MERCEDES LACKEY (born June 24, 1950 in Chicago, Illinois) is an author in the fantasy genre, and self-proclaimed storyteller. She graduated from Purdue University in 1972. Before attending Purdue, she wrote for herself. While at Purdue, she started publishing fan fiction in fanzines and dabbled in writing "filk" lyrics. (She has written and recorded dozens of songs, and has received 5 Pegasus Awards.) On her official website, she says, “I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction.”
She and her husband, Larry Dixon, have written many books in collaboration. She also often teams up with other authors such as Marion Zimmer Bradley, Rosemary Edghill, and Andre Norton. She currently lives with her husband in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They enjoy working in raptor rehabilitation, and she refers to her various parrots as her “feathered children.” Her interest in the avian world is reflected in many of her books, and in her support of the Alex Foundation.
Lackey is one of my favorite authors. Whenever I go into a library or bookstore, she is usually the first author that I look for. (It also helps that she has written so many books; I can usually find ones that I haven’t read no matter where I go.) Her writing style is very detailed – she gives life to every single one of the characters in her stories, making them seem real rather than fictional. She also has a knack for pulling the reader into the society and culture of whatever world or time period the story takes place in.
