Mercedes Lackey - Collections - Elves On The Road Universe - Diana Tregarde

Diana Tregarde

The main character, Diana Tregarde, is an American witch, practicing a fantasy version of Wicca; by virtue of her position as a "Guardian" Diana has access to more magical power than many and she is required to give her help when someone asks it of her. Her magical abilities do not pay the bills, however, and so Diana makes her living by writing romance novels. In the stories, Diana must protect others from angry deities, vampires and a sorceress who intends to remain eternally young.

• Burning Water (1989)
• Children of the Night (1990)
• Jinx High (1991)

• Diana Tregard Investigates (2006) (omnibus edition of the above three novels)

• "Arcanum 101" (2010) is a novella included in Trio of Sorcery (2010)

The character Diana Tregarde first appeared in two short stories, "Satanic, Versus..." and "Nightside", which were originally written for inclusion in the Bureau 13: Stalking the Night Fantastic roleplaying game. The short stories were first published in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine:

• "Satanic, Versus ..." (1990) Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine, Autumn 1990
• "Nightside" (1989) Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine, Autumn 1989
• "Killer Byte" (1994) Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine, Spring 1994

The books were published under Tor's horror imprint rather than its fantasy. At the time of publication, positive depictions of what Wiccans and, more generally, neopagans believed and did were rare. In the mid-nineties, Lackey's books generally were regularly cited as examples of pagan-friendly fiction. Lackey wrote that she had no plans for further books in the series because they did not sell well; nonetheless, she incorporated several elements of the Guardian mythos, including the apartment building where Diana lived, into later books in her Bedlam's Bard series.

In the collection "Bedlam's Edge" Lackey notes that she placed the Diana Tregarde world with her SERRAted Edge and Summoned to Tourney world with the intention of forcing anyone who believed Diana Tregarde and the Guardians were real to also have to believe in elves, dragons, and other patently fantastical things.