There are a lot of great female authors out there, but for some reason they are often hard to remember. One of the few how stand out immediately in my mind (among contemporary writers) is Danielle Steel, and she’s not exactly the kind of writer I feel the urge to write about on this site.

I don’t know why it is that it can be so much easier to remember great male authors when trying to think of some writer I admire. Maybe it is my own fault, or the fault of a culture that promotes male writers better. I don’t know, really.

However, one female author who is easy to remember is J.K. Rowling, who wrote the extremely successful Harry Potter books. I can’t say that I’m a Harry Potter-fanboy at all but I do feel that Rowling deserves a mention here, for several reasons.

Rowling

"J. K." Rowling

First of all, she seems like a real nerd, and we like that. Seriously, anyone who has ideas that are as geeky as the universe that Harry Potter inhabits in their heads, score big points with those of us who like nerds.

But the effect she has on other people is even more important.

Obviously, her success has encouraged a lot of young women to pursue their author dreams, and that’s a great thing. Especially if she manages to inspire and encourage the nerdy type of girls, because honestly, can there be anything hotter than a woman who writes nerdy fantasy or science fiction books? I have a hard time imagining anything sexier.

But I actually think that the most important thing about her is her name. Continue Reading »