Diana Tregarde series

1. Burning Water (1989) - Diana Tregarde series

1. Knight of Ghosts and Shadows (1990)-Bedlam's Bard

1. This Scepter'd Isle (2004)-Doubled Edge

The Diana Tregarde series, the Bedlam's Bard series, SERRAted Edge series, Doubled Edge series, written by Mercedes Lackey

Genres and Sub-Genres[]

Urban Fantasy / Mystery Thriller / Early Urban Fantasy

Brief Series Description or Overview[]

Diana Tregarde is a Guardian, someone who has been given extra magical power in order to help others. She is also a Wiccan and a romance novelist.

Books in Series[]

Diana Tregarde:

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

Chronologically:

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

~ Note: they were published out of chronological order—Burning Water is in the middle chronologically but published first.

Shorts, Anthologies and Guides[]

0.5. "Arcanum 101" in Trio of Sorcery (2010) ~ Anthology
0.75. "Nightside" (1989) ~ eShort
3.5. "Satanic, Versus" (1990) ~ eShort
3.25. "Killer Byte" (1994) ~ eShort

~ Originally published in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine

Companion Series, Spinoffs, Sequels or Prequels[]

~ Series in the Elves on the Road universe:

Bedlam's Bard:

Knight of Ghosts and Shadows (1990) (with Ellen Guon)
Summoned to Tourney (1992) (with Ellen Guon)
Beyond World's End (2001) (with Rosemary Edghill)
Spirits White as Lightning (2001) (with Rosemary Edghill)
Mad Maudlin (2003) (with Rosemary Edghill)
Music to My Sorrow (2003) (with Rosemary Edghill)

~ Goodreads | Bedlam's Bard series

SERRAted Edge series:

Born to Run (1992) (with Larry Dixon)
Chrome Circle (1994) (with Larry Dixon)
When the Bough Breaks (1993) (with Holly Lisle)
Wheels of Fire (1992) (with Mark Shepherd)
Stoned Souls (2006) (with Josepha Sherman)

Doubled Edge series:

This Scepter'd Isle (2004)
Ill Met by Moonlight (2005)
By Slanderous Tongues (2005)
And Less Than Kind (2008)

~ Goodreads | Doubled Edge series

List of Series in the Elves on the Road universe:[]

Bedlam's Bard series
Diana Tregarde series
SERRAted Edge series
Doubled Edge series

World Building[]

Mercedes Lackey: Burning Water

Setting[]

Dallas, Texas
Oklahoma

Supernatural Types[]

Psychic, guardians, witches, elves, magic, werewolves, psychic vampires (suck life force), blood-drinking vampires, Aztec gods, nullity (kills magic), Nulls, sourcerers, Reincarnation, modern life, Native American mythology, avatar of an Aztec god,

Glossary:[]

World[]

The culprits are reincarnations of the Aztec deity Tezcatlipoca and his handmaidens, in the bodies of a fashion photographer and his four native-blooded muses. Driven by the deities inhabiting them, they set out on a crusade to rid their America of the invaders who stole it from the Aztec people a few centuries ago.

Magic has to have rules. Diana operates in certain ways based on her own internal power, whereas the Aztecans are stealing power from those that they sacrifice, and then the power manifests in ways that make sense. ~ Burning Water, by Mercedes Lackey | The Incurable Bluestocking

Protagonist []

✥ The main character’s strong points as I see them are 1) she is confident but knows her limitations well 2) she was realistic with research and interviewing locals 3) she has depth – she is taking care of a friend suffering from AIDS back home and finds a healer whom she sends back to care take him and 4) she was not superwoman. ~ ?

✥ Diana transforms from being a lonely teenager trying to embrace her new Guardianship by herself (her parents are dead and her grandmother has recently died, too) into a capable adult with a circle of friends who want to support and help her. She learns to operate in the world "on her own"—without the support of her parental figure--but with a group of friends. She even gets a boyfriend at the end of the story. ~ Sublimation, et alia.: Author Stalking: Mercedes Lackey and the Diana Tregarde series

✥ Tregarde is a special kind of witch, a Guardian, who cannot refuse a person’s call for help. She deals with godlets, vampires, werewolves and other witches, having no mercy on any who take advantage of anyone else. Tregarde is extremely tolerant of anyone’s point of view, as long as that point of view allows for differences in other people. ~ DIANA TREGARDE INVESTIGATES -- A Book Review - Bubblews

Sidekick[]

Name: / What: / Sidekick-to: / About: / Book First Seen:

Characters Chart[]

Characters	What	About
Diana Tregarde	Urban witch, guardian, romance novelist	Occult specialist and romance novelist who is called in to work on a case with a supernatural nature
Andre	vampire	Diana's friend
Mark Valdez	Detective and psychic	long-time friend of Diana's who needs her help on some murder cases
Tezcatlipoca	Aztec god	Tezcatlipoca ispreparing for a great sacrifice that will transform North America into a new Aztec realm.
Robert	photographer	married to Sherry who has issues with fidelity and finds his ticket to wealth with four mysterious Aztec-descended girls
Sherry	Shop owner	married to Robert who knows her marriage is bad but can't break away from him
Aunt Nita	Mark's sweet old aunt	who runs a boarding house where Diana is staying and is sensitive to the supernatural
Dwight Rhoades	manager	Much hated; becomes a victim of the cult who is working in Texas
Chief Grimes	Chief of detectives	unit Mark works with who takes a liking to Diana and her work style
Ramirez	detective	Friend of Mark's
Thomas Harden aka Azarel	Satanist	Head of the First Dallas Church of Satan
Burning Water	Mayan god	Incarnation of a Mayan god bent on the destruction of white civilization
Dave Kendall	Diana's ex	Guitarist in the band Wanderlust
Andre Le Brel	Vampire	protector of a tribe of Romany (gypsies).
"Master" Jefferies		villian

To expand the table, in Edit–Visual mode, right-press on a Row of the table (Control-press on a Mac)—choose add Row or Column. Or, in Source Mode: copy-paste rows.

Author[]

Mercedes Lackey

Website: Mercedes Lackey - The Official Website
Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

Bio: Mercedes Lackey has a degree in biology from Purdue University. Like many writers she has worked at a variety of jobs, including short stints as a waitress, security guard and artist's model. She lives outside Tulsa, Oklahoma with her husband and collaborator, artist Larry Dixon, their several birds and two dogs. ~ Mercedes Lackey ~ FF

Full Bio: Mercedes Lackey: Bio - The Official Website

Cover Art: Artist[]

Bk-1: Burning Water

Artist: Maren (1989–Tor)
Artist: Hugh Syme (2005–Tor)

Bk-2: Children of the Night

Artist: Daniel Horne (1990–Tor)
Artist: Hugh Syme (2005–Tor)

Bk-3:

Artist: Gary Smith (1991—Tor)
Artist: Hugh Syme (2006—Tor)

~ Source: Diana Tregarde - ISFdb Series Bibliography Diana Tregarde Investigates (Omnibus)

Artist: Chris McGrath (Dec–Science Fiction Book Club) — Source: isfdb

Publishing Information[]

Publishers: Tor Books; St. Martins Press; High Flight Arts and Letters;

Author page: Mercedes Lackey | Authors | Macmillan
Series Page: Macmillan: Series: Diana Tregarde Investigation: Books
Bk–1: Paperback, 336 pages, Pub: Jan 1st 2005—ISBN: 0765313170
Bk–2: Paperback, 318 pages, Pub: Aug 1st 2005—ISBN: 0765313189
Bk–3: Paperback, 335 pages, Pub: Sept 5th 2000—ISBN: 0765313197

Book Cover Blurbs[]

✤ BOOK ONE BLURB—Burning Water: A sexy witch who writes romances and a police detective who sees more than mortal man team up to battle an ancient Aztec god! Dallas Police Detective Mark Valdez isn't just any cop, he's a psychic who knows that the cattle mutilations and torture murders he's been investigating are somehow tied together. He also knows that his meager psychic abilities aren't enough to identify the killers, much less stop them. Luckily, Mark has an ace up his sleeve: an attractive young romance novelist who happens to be a practicing witch. And not just any witch, either-Diana Tregarde is a Guardian, charged with protecting the Earth and all its creatures. Using modern science and ancient magics, Diana and Mark discover that they are tailing no ordinary serial killer but the awakened avatar of an Aztec god. Tezcatlipoca and his four beautiful handmaidens are preparing for a great sacrifice that will transform North America into a new Aztec realm. Diana isn't sure her powers are strong enough to take on those of a risen Aztec god, but she has no choice. As a Guardian, she is sworn to protect mankind, even at the cost of her own life. Luckily, she does not stand alone. Mark Valdez is more than just a cop. And Tezcatlipoca is not the only Aztec god walking in the world. ~ Goodreads | Burning Water #1

✤ BOOK TWO BLURB—Children of the Night: When Dave Kendall realizes that his rock band is under the control of hanger-on Master Jefferies, he figures he's just been partying too hard. But Diana Tregarde and charming vampire Andre Le Brel have been tracking Jeffries for some time. Now the witch and the vampire face Jeffries and his evil minions in a battle for the soul of rock-and-roll. ~ Goodreads #2

✤ BOOK THREE BLURB—Jinx High: Fay Harper looks like any other teenage girl--any other Queen Bee, that is. She's blond, and beautiful, and very, very popular--the kind of popular that attracts boys like honey. Fay and her gang take a lot of risks, but so far they've managed to get away with everything. It's as if they are magically protected. Summoned to Tulsa by an old friend whose son has fallen in with Fay's crowd, Diana Tregarde, practicing witch and successful romance novelist, quickly finds herself in hot water. The new girl at school, Monica Carlin, has come under sorcerous attack, but Diana cannot identify, or stop, the power-wielder. To make matters worse, there is an ancient being sleeping under Tulsa, a being who might be woken by the magic battles taking place in the city. What will happen then, even Diana cannot predict. ~ Goodreads | Jinx High #3

First Sentence[]

Bk-1: LUPE SOBBED HARSHLY, HER VOICE MUFFLED, AS IF SMOTHERED by the darkness all about her.
Bk-2: Diana Tregarde sighed, propped her chin on her right hand, and leaned on the countertop. Bk-3: