Epic fantasy and women as heroes

[sartorias]

I've been reading Deborah J. Ross's The Seven-Petaled Shield, which starts off with an massive invasion, as many epic fantasies do. But it departs from the usual by sticking to the point-of-view of the wife and mother (step-mother), rather than the king, his heroic sons, or any of the male characters.

Ross, a veteran martial artist, talks more about this subject here.