Today is International Women’s Day, and what better way to celebrate than by celebrating some of the most talented indie and self-published authors? So here are fifteen books written by women authors featuring female characters that we love!
These picks are by Nils and Trudie, and also featuring the lovely Tessa Hastjarjanto with her selection of fantastic female characters.
Nils’ Picks
Jane from Blackburn Station by Karen H Lucia
Jane is the lone survivor of the destruction of Blackburn Station, and I love her because even from the edge of ruin and despair, she claws her way back and finds a reason to go on.
Find Blackburn Station on Goodreads
Sable from Dragon’s Reach by J.A. Andrews
Sable starts out as a lowly thief, but with the ability to hear the truth in what people say. I love her because of how she uses this ability to unite people and bring out the best in them.
Find Dragon’s Reach on Goodreads
Mildred Percy from Miss Percy’s Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons by Quenby Olson
Mildred is an ordinary middle-aged woman in rural victorian England who finds a dragon egg and gets it to hatch. I love her because she’s just plain old ordinary, and how there’s nothing ordinary about that.
Find Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons on Goodreads
Nesrin from Ice & Ivy by J.D. Evans
Nesrin is a farmer’s daughter who gets caught up in the schemes and trickery of the mighty and powerful. I love her because despite the strange new life she finds herself with, she remains true to herself and her beliefs.
Jo from Bad Grains by Susanne Schmidt
Jo is an 11-year old German girl who loves Halloween. I love her because of how she faces up to the dangers and horrors she encounters when things don’t turn out quite as she thought in her hometown.
Tessa’s Picks
Millie from No Land for Heroes by Cal Black
Millie, a bad-ass elf who earned the nickname The Bayou Butcher, does her best to protect everything she loves. Her daughters, their wild pets, and a small town filled with outcast women. She faces her trauma and enemies head on. Shoot first, ask questions later. That missed shot? She didn’t miss.
Find No Land for Heroes on Goodreads
Laurel from Coal Gets In Your Veins by Cat Rector
Laurel is stuck in an abusive marriage with Greg (Fuck Greg should be the tagline of this book) but when a grieving bisexual vampire moves to town, something deep within her awakens. She’s not so different from this vampire.
Find Coal Gets In Your Veins on Goodreads
Jack Valentine from May Day by Josie Jaffrey
Talking about disaster bi vampires, Jack Valentine tops that list. She’s unlucky, disliked by many, and somehow attracted the attention of a powerful vampire. Even though the whole world is against her, she manages to stay alive.
Fiona from Between the Lines by D. Hale Rambo
Fiona, a private investigator, is incredibly smart and crafty. No mystery to too big for her. She visits different countries to figure out who’s leading a secret organisation out to end the world. She’s not alone in her quest to stop them but she’s the only one who was able to secure the connections needed to unravel the near-invisible web.
Find Between the Lines on Goodreads
Cal from The Stray Spirit by R.K. Ashwick
Being the ex of the protagonist isn’t the best role to have, but Cal doesn’t care. She knows the truth. Being a scholar, she knows how to sift through the information Emry gathers during his journey to help Aspen. Her intellect and empathy set her apart from others at the academy. Emry always knew Cal was special, he just needed a reminder.
Find The Stray Spirit on Goodreads
Trudie’s Picks
Anna from We’re All Monsters Here by Amy Marsden
Anna is a lesbian and a vampire who likes to eat rich people. A winning combination in my book! She’s intelligent, well-travelled, and knows exactly what she wants out of life. Better yet, she’s a vampire who is thinking about the future and the environmental impact of CEO’s polluting the planet, which I suppose would concern you if you were immortal. What better way of dealing with greedy CEO’s than draining them of blood?
Find We’re All Monster’s Here on Goodreads
Selkie from The Skin by J. E. Hannaford
Okay so The Skin features some of the most fascinating character work in a book I’ve ever come across. We begin with Selkie, a selkie who loses their skin (as per the folklore of selkies being able to take off their seal-like skin) and goes on a dangerous quest to retrieve it. Along the way we meet other POV characters, a noblewoman named Lady Gina and an explorer named Georgie with a crew on a mission to save ancient ocean creatures. All three characters converge in a unique way that I urge you to read!
Evelyn from Awakening: The Commune’s Curse by Lucy A. McLaren
Evelyn is a young fantasy protagonist with a lot of adult problems on her shoulders. She finds herself struggling for survival in a world that shows no mercy while trying to protect two children under her care and trying to fight off the demons of her past. It’s a lot, and yet she handles these difficult battles with such a headstrong attitude, you can’t help but root for her.
Marsa from Once We Flew by Nikky Lee
Marsa is an older female protagonist, which is rare enough in fantasy fiction. She’s a grumpy older lady isolated on a desert planet that’s suffering from many problems, least of all the strange crystal-like growth on her foot that causes her discomfort and magical abilities. But when her colony needs her to save it, she steps up and goes on an adventure, no matter the risks.
Find Once We Flew on Goodreads
Joy from A Sorrow Named Joy by Sarah Chorn
Sarah writes many wonderful female characters across her books, but I’ve chosen Joy, a woman who is living the perfect life of domestic bliss until one day she picks up a photo and realises her entire life is a lie. It’s a story of identity and discovering oneself, and one of hope and optimism.
Find A Sorrow Named Joy on Goodreads
Who are your favourite female characters by women indie and self-published SFF authors? Drop us a comment and recommendation!
