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In honor of International Womens Day, Who is your favorite female author, and why?

I'd have to say my favourite female authors are mostly manga-kas such as Ai Yazawa and Fujii Mihona because they wrote some of my favourite manga and they have pretty strong female characters.

Another is Kristyn Dunnion(Mosh Pit) and S.E. Hinton(Outsiders) because Mosh Pit is my favourite book and The Outsiders was an awesome one as well.

but there are sooo many to choose from whee

This 13 year old lady who weote one of my fav books called "The prophecy of the three stones!" She lives in Paris. This book was once in French, however it was translated in English and it's a-MAZING!!!

It was really interesting reading it especially since it was the end of seventh grade when I read it and it contained *ahem* mature content. *laugh* The I read Diana Gabaldon's series. I re-read Jean Auel's books so much it's not even funny. I can't wait for the next one but it'll probably take several years just like her previous ones. urgh. Oh well.

My mom got me to read her as well. It's really interesting I mean it has a lot of drama but not over-excessive, it's comedic in a more subtle sense most of the time. It's romantic and yet there's something else there that I can't pin point. I'll get it eventually.

Jane Austen and Mary Shelley are my top favorites.

I haven't read all of Austen's novels, but they mostly have the same theme: the normal, mundane actions ultimately being heroic-like in their own sense. I definitely recommend Pride and Prejudice. Also, if you've read some Gothic fiction, you should also read Northanger Abbey. If you haven't read Gothic fiction, then try The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. It's pretty short, around 80-100 pages or so and it portrays the ideas that Austen satirizes in Northanger Abbey.

Of course, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley should be read. Not much more I can say about that except that it is awesome. Heh.

However, I absolutely adore the amatory fiction by Eliza Haywood. Her writing is so over the top: exactly what amatory fiction should be (i.e. the persecuted maiden trying to balance her desire for her man and what society expects of her, focusing mainly on the nobility). If you guys want a good soap opera novel, then amatory fiction is the way to go. I will admit, I am not a fan of soap operas, but amatory fiction is somewhat like it, only way cooler.

Some stuff by Haywood includes the short stories of "Fantomina" and "The Masqueraders." One of her novels is, Love in Excess; or the Fatal Inquiry. I recommend "Fantomina" first, just to get a sense of what amatory fiction is. If you love it, keep reading more of her stuff. If not, then don't.

Ultimately, this is good stuff, good stuff.

I think mine would be Anne Rice. She is a very accomplihed female author, and a lot of her main characters are males! I think it is so cool how she can do that!

I also really enjoy her books because they aren't just gorey vampire books, or romance vampire books, they go a lot deeper. It's all about internal struggle and such. They really are amazing!

I think that one of my favorite authors is V.C. Andrews, although most of her work was written by a male. She died before she finished her second series. I have read everything except for her newest book. I own almost all of her books. My mom read her work as a kid, and really enjoyed it. One day I asked her what I should read next and she told me "Flowers In The Attic". Its got to be one of the best books I've ever read. I've read it at leat five times, and will probably read it more than that.

Mercedes Lackey! She is the best ever! The way she writes is so talented, I am currently collecting and reading all her books. She is so wonderful. ^_^