K is for Kerowyn

Now, if you're not familiar with Mercedes Lackey's By the Sword, or her series about Tarma and Kethry (hey, another K name), the first part of this post won't make much sense to you.  To be honest, I love Kero.  Kero is what I expected from a mercenary fighter.  She is calculating, she worries about her paycheck, but she also worries about the rest of her merc company.  At first it's just as comrades.  When Kero becomes the captain of her own company, she shows that she cares about her troops.  To her, they're not just numbers - they're real people and she mourns the loss of her people.

Why am I bringing up Kero?  And her grandmother Kethry?  And Tarma?  What about Talia, Alanna, Lessa, and many others?  These are the strong female MCs who attracted my attention when I was a teenager.  These are the women who inspired the strong female MCs that I write about now.

I was reading fantasy when, for the most part, strong female lead characters weren't as prevalent as they are today.  The mid to late 90's and after 2000 there were more books with strong female leads.  But in the 80's and early 90's, there weren't as many strong female leads.  This was because fantasy has traditionally been a male character dominated genre.

The reason I liked the women is because I could identify with some part of their lives, however small it might have been.  They gave me hope for my own life, that I could possibly get past my painful past and have a brighter future.  I didn't get that as much with the strong male leads.

What strong female MCs do you enjoy reading about?  What makes them so appealing to you?