Mercedes Lackey, also known as Misty Lackey, was born on June 24th, 1950 in Chicago, Illinois. She says that she began writing fantasy out of boredom & continues out of addiction. In addition to her writing career, she has written lyrics & recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music.
She says that she could never not write. "I am a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'." She started writing professionally in 1987 & her writing career has spanned twenty years. Her interest in fantasy began at age 10 or 11, when she picked up her father's copy of James H. Schmitz's Agent of Vega
She counts among her influences: Marion Zimmer Bradley, C.J. Cherryh & Andre Norton. She is married to fellow science fiction author Larry Dixon & lives with her husband in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
She is known for creating the worlds Valdemar & Velgarth & also for writing fantasy short stories.
She has written over 70 fantasy books starting with Arrows of the Queen (1987); Arrow's Flight (1987); Arrow's Fall (1988) in the Heralds of Valdemar Trilogy & including The Fire Rose (1995); The Serpent's Shadow (2001); The Gates of Sleep (2002); Phoenix & Ashes (2005); Wizard of London (2005); Reserved for the Cat (2007) in the Elemental Masters Series - a retelling of many popular fairytales. She has also written several collaborations with other fantasy authors. Her fan club is known as The Queen's Own; after the Herald Talia's position in Mercedes Lackey's books.
She says that many of her books are based on her own real life experiences. She explores many topics in her writing such as love, life & war & the costs that are required from her characters when facing life's challenges. According to Mercedes Lackey, "I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ('There Ain't no Such Thing as a Free Lunch' - credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic. For instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for; & the cost to the magician is frequently a high one." Mercedes Lackey's website is www.mercedeslackey.com.