I am writing this in between coughing up a spleen. Damn cold virus.1

I've been inspired this morning by Joanna Walsh who started the #readwomen2014 meme.2

And since I love lists, here is my list of women writers I have on my shelves:

1. Ellen Kushner

Swordspoint; The Fall of the Kings; Priviledge of the Sword; Thomas the Rhymer

Looking at the list of titles they do look like romances, but I assure you they are not. Romantic yes, in that they are full of sword-fights, schemes, and bloody freedom-fighting. There is emphatically NO bodice-ripping to be found.

2. Sheri S Tepper

Just a selection of my favourites: Grass; The Gate to Women's Country; Family Tree; A Plague of Angels; The Awakeners; The Companions

Sci-Fi fans if you've not read her before (and do ignore the blurbs on the backs of the books - for some reason they write them like romances!) you would like her if you like Robert Silverberg and Orson Scott Card. Particularly Grass and The Companions.

3. Esther Friesner

She's better known for her shorts and her editorial prowess. If you want a witty good laugh, seek her out in various anthologies. The Chicks In Chainmail series is just superb and I wish I could find them... (they're packed away in a box somewhere. Oh yes, 18 months on and we're still haven't unpacked.)

4. Octavia E Butler

Parable of the Talents; Wild Seed; Clay's Ark

As a black writer, Butler's stories often explore social challenges within a futuristic context. Her brand of sci-fi would suit you if you liked Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451.

5. Kate Griffin

A Madness of Angels; The Midnight Mayor

Wonderful urban fantasy set in a throbbing, grungy, hungry London. Griffin's writing is visceral, rhythmic and for me, had the power of a undertow. I fell in love from page 1 of Madness.

I have to go work now3... but other female authors you should consider reading this year:

• Janet Evanonich - hapless bounty hunter mysteries - pick up a Stephanie Plum book - Takedown Twenty is a fun read
• Angela Carter - Nights at the Circus
• Margaret Atwood - The Handmaid's Tale
• Hilary Mantel - Wolf Hall; Bring Up the Bodies
• Erin Morgenstern - The Night Circus
• Sandi Toksvig - Whistling for Elephants; Flying Under Bridges
• Lynne Truss - Eats, Shoots and Leaves
• Kate Fox - Watching the English

1 On the plus side, Plate and I spent about half an hour going "ooh! ah!" at images of the flu virus and learning a bit about them.

2 http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2014/jan/20/read-women-2014-change-sexist-reading-habits

3 Yup, still not emancipated. Yet. I think it will happen this year.