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Diana Tregarde #0.9
Nightside
Urban witch Diana Tregarde and her vampire friend Andre team up to take on an unknown monster.
Nook
First published January 1, 1989
29 people are currently reading
431 people want to read
About the author
Mercedes Lackey
432 books9,555 followersMercedes 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
"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
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 10, 2011
diana tregarde short story. wish ms. lackey would write more diana stories. sigh.
December 12, 2020
I haven't checked the publishing dates, but I'd bet this was an earlier short story written for an anthology or a monthly magazine
It's a short story, but Children of the Night is obviously takes this and expands it into a novel.
Even as a short story, I found it a bit weak. To be fair, maybe I subconsciously downrated it because I had read Children of the Night first, which I did find to be a fairly entertaining read.
Sometimes the short story can be better than the novelized version. Asimov's Nightfall short story is hard hitting in it's reveal. The novelization with Silverberg is ok, but isn't as good a novel as the short story is a short story.
It's a short story, but Children of the Night is obviously takes this and expands it into a novel.
Even as a short story, I found it a bit weak. To be fair, maybe I subconsciously downrated it because I had read Children of the Night first, which I did find to be a fairly entertaining read.
Sometimes the short story can be better than the novelized version. Asimov's Nightfall short story is hard hitting in it's reveal. The novelization with Silverberg is ok, but isn't as good a novel as the short story is a short story.
March 5, 2020
Still great
This island the original short story that would eventually be turned into the full book Children of the Night, Diana Tregarde Book 2. Andre was my first literary vampire and has spoiled me for all others. They all get compared to him!
This island the original short story that would eventually be turned into the full book Children of the Night, Diana Tregarde Book 2. Andre was my first literary vampire and has spoiled me for all others. They all get compared to him!
April 27, 2024
Wonderful
Diana is seeking a serial killer and, with the help of Andre, she might find it. Surviving the encounter might be the hard part. One does what one must to keep body and soul together--especially when facing an opponent of the type you've never heard of before.
Diana is seeking a serial killer and, with the help of Andre, she might find it. Surviving the encounter might be the hard part. One does what one must to keep body and soul together--especially when facing an opponent of the type you've never heard of before.
June 21, 2021
Another short story involving Diana, Andre, and a Japanese Soul Stealer.
A similar character was used in the Children of the Night.
A good eBook short story.
A similar character was used in the Children of the Night.
A good eBook short story.
January 6, 2023
Vampire story
I love a good vampire tale. This one is a short story about Diana Tregarde's fight with a smoke vampire. I loved it.
I love a good vampire tale. This one is a short story about Diana Tregarde's fight with a smoke vampire. I loved it.
August 13, 2023
Flawed plot
Twenty words for what? I'd have to use way more than that to walk thru the problem, creating spoiler, or can sum up in two, ok three: badly flawed plot
Twenty words for what? I'd have to use way more than that to walk thru the problem, creating spoiler, or can sum up in two, ok three: badly flawed plot
April 6, 2025
Diana Tregarde must enlist Anrdre's help to find a killer. Short and spooky!
March 6, 2024
re-read 3/1/2014
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews