KD often features strong female characters in her works. She worked for nearly 15 years in an ER so she knows a thing or two about strong women.
Links to sites that discuss strong female characters and female role models...
Books for Eleventh Grade Students
Culturally Diverse Books for Young Readers
Historical Fiction with Strong Female Characters
A panel on Strong Female Characters in Sci-fi
Why Josh Whedon writes strong female characters
Shakespeare's depiction of strong female characters