0 ratings | 0 reviews | avg rating:0.0

#1 most followed

Mercedes Lackey’s Followers (8,942)

Mercedes’s Bookshelves

read (0)
currently-reading (0)
to-read (0)

Mercedes’s Friends

Mercedes hasn't connected with their friends on Goodreads, yet.

Mercedes Lackey

Goodreads Author

Born

in Chicago, Illinois, The United States

Website

http://www.mercedeslackey.com

Twitter

MercedesLackey

Genre

Fantasy, Science Fiction, Music

Member Since

August 2024

edit data

Mercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70's she worked as an artist's model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music.

"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics Mercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70's she worked as an artist's model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music.

"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.

"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.

"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:

"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."

Also writes as Misty Lackey

Author's website ...more

47 posts
Mercedes Lackey's Blog

Majestic Wings Rescue

We are devoted to the life long care of unwanted, abused, neglected, behavioral challenged birds . Call us anytime day or night. please leave a voice message if no answer please leave a voice mail.

https://www.facebook.com/majesticwing...

View more on Mercedes Lackey's website »

1 like · Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on December 06, 2022 17:51

View all 47 posts »

Combine Editions
Mercedes Lackey’s books

Average rating: 4.05 · 1,049,629 ratings · 37,502 reviews · 634 distinct works • Similar authors

	Arrows of the Queen (Heralds of Valdemar, #1) 4.14 avg rating — 38,590 ratings — published 1987 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Magic's Pawn (The Last Herald-Mage, #1) 4.21 avg rating — 27,422 ratings — published 1989	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Arrow's Fall (Heralds of Valdemar, #3) 4.19 avg rating — 23,655 ratings — published 1988 — 30 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Arrow's Flight (Heralds of Valdemar, #2) 4.13 avg rating — 23,597 ratings — published 1987 — 38 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Magic's Price (The Last Herald-Mage #3) 4.27 avg rating — 22,025 ratings — published 1990 — 20 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Magic's Promise (The Last Herald-Mage #2) 4.22 avg rating — 21,584 ratings — published 1990 — 27 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	By the Sword (Valdemar, #9) 4.27 avg rating — 21,173 ratings — published 1991 — 27 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Fairy Godmother (Five Hundred Kingdoms, #1) 3.99 avg rating — 18,987 ratings — published 2004 — 18 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Winds of Fate (Mage Winds #1) 4.07 avg rating — 17,296 ratings — published 1991 — 26 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Oathbreakers (Vows and Honor, #2) 4.19 avg rating — 15,947 ratings — published 1989 — 19 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Mercedes Lackey…

Series by Mercedes Lackey

Elemental Masters (17 books)
by

Mercedes Lackey (Goodreads Author)

3.95 avg rating — 88,322 ratings

Valdemar: Vows and Honor (3 books)
by

Mercedes Lackey (Goodreads Author)

4.16 avg rating — 48,177 ratings

Obsidian Universe (8 books)
by

Mercedes Lackey (Goodreads Author),

James Mallory

4.04 avg rating — 43,569 ratings

Valdemar: Collegium Chronicles (5 books)
by

Mercedes Lackey (Goodreads Author)

4.04 avg rating — 43,400 ratings

Valdemar: Mage Wars (3 books)
by

Mercedes Lackey (Goodreads Author),

Larry Dixon

3.98 avg rating — 39,117 ratings

More series by Mercedes Lackey…

It's fair to say that Rebecca Yarros' Fourth Wing—a romance-laced fantasy about dragon-riding warriors—has become the hit book of the summer....

Polls

3rd Quarter 2021 - Fantasy #2

City of Bones by Martha Wells, 442p

5 votes, 41.7%

Beyond the Hanging Wall by Sara Douglass, 352p

2 votes, 16.7%

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri, 480p

2 votes, 16.7%

Magic's Pawn by Mercedes Lackey, 349p

1 vote, 8.3%

Wizard of the Pigeons: The 35th Anniversary Illustrated Edition by Megan Lindholm, 384p

1 vote, 8.3%

Questland by Carrie Vaughn, 304p

1 vote, 8.3%

The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon, 432p

0 votes, 0.0%

The Lights of Prague by Nicole Jarvis, 413p

0 votes, 0.0%

The Ninth Rain by Jen Williams, 544p

0 votes, 0.0%

12 total votes

comments and details

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Pick-a-Shelf: 2009-02 - Fantasy - What will you Read in February?	37	230	Feb 19, 2009 08:13AM
The Next Best Boo...: Female author recommendations?	64	1320	Feb 20, 2009 11:57AM
Fantasy Book Club: Suggestions for a newbie about what to read?	19	532	Mar 09, 2009 06:34AM
SciFi and Fantasy...: Nomination Thread for June Fantasy Theme Pick - Sci-Fantasy	70	555	Apr 22, 2009 03:37PM
Goodreads Librari...: Changes sticking?	9	78	Jun 05, 2009 12:16AM
Building a SciFi/...: Book/series recommendations - fantasy	56	734	Aug 04, 2009 05:04PM
Goodreads Librari...: Setting up series order...(comma?, #?, etc)	124	502	Aug 24, 2009 01:38PM
75 Books...More o...: Bookreadera's 75 in 2009	32	253	Oct 11, 2009 01:20PM
Urban Fantasy: Looking for Recommendations: Non-Series Books	65	381	Oct 20, 2009 08:18PM