My name from his be freed!

In the first of my answering-question posts: my favourite authors, and their effect on my writing (particularly of women). The full question is below.

I am part-way through Vespera, and utterly gripped by the unfolding political intrigue (so please don't reveal the ending!). I've also been struck by how many excellent strong female characters you write (my favourites thus far being Leonata, Anthemia and Daena, though Aesonia, Flavia and Thais come pretty close), which (at the risk of wild...