Sirens question

At Sirens, we all ate lunch together and after we got our food and had a chance to just introduce ourselves to new people at the table (which there always were), one of the organizers stood up and asked us to answer a question amongst the group. The questions, as I recall were:

Who is your favorite female fantasy character?

I said my favorite was Ista from Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold. She is such a different character, a dowager queen who has spent most of her life running scared of the secrets she holds, and sure that she has no power of her own that matters. And then . . . she finds love in entirely the wrong place, and is forced into a situation where at last, she has the skills to do what must be done to save the world.

Who is your favorite female fantasy writer?

OK, not difficult to guess, since above--Lois McMaster Bujold. But I could go on and on, listing my favorite writers, who are overwhelmingly female. I was talking to 15 this week and she said her two favorite authors are Dan Wells (I Am Not A Serial Killer) and Patrick Rothfuss (She rereads The Name of the Wind every week or so). I think that when I was younger, I preferred male authors more, and now I have completely turned around. Don't know what's up with that. Here's a list of female authors (not all fantasy writers) whom I love:

Connie Willis
Nancy Kress
Holly Black
Diana Peterfreund
Nancy Werlin
Franny Billingsley
Cassie Clare
Kathleen Duey
Esther Friesner
Susan Beth Durst
Shannon Hale
Margeret Peterson Haddix
Gail Carson Levine
Tamora Pierce
Edith Pattou
Megan Whalen Turner
Sarah Rees Brennan
Carrie Ryan
Justine Larbelestier
Robin Wasserman
Ally Carter
Lauren Myracle
Ann Cannon
Cecil Castellucci
Sarah Dessen
Carol Lynch Williams
Jane Kurtz
E. Lockhart
Robin McKinley
Susan Cooper
Madeleine L'Engle
Susan Beth Pfeffer
Janni Lee Simner
Ursula K. LeGuin
Patricia Briggs
Naomi Novik
Robin Hobb
Anne McCaffrey
Sharon Shinn
Jo Walton
Susanna Clarke
Ellen Kushner
Seanan McGuire

I could go on and on. Really, I could.

And a question that I think just came from the group:
Do you prefer series or standalone fantasies?

I met one person who said she preferred standalones, but I didn't believe her. The truth is, I love characters even more than I love plot, and so I tend to want a long time to enjoy that character and the different situations I could imagine him/her in. I like to see characters begin as teens or even younger and then grow up, and into their age and their place in the world. I like to see them get old. I like to see how the world changes around them. I like to see what happens when characters die off and other characters come in and take their place. I like it all. I love series when they are done well, and I am not ashamed to admit it. Standalones are great, they really are. I read them all the time. But the books I reread and recommend are more often than not series.

Also, for those interested in a more complete description of the panel on female friendships, you can go here