Fun Fact: I love to take real-life inspiration for my characters. For example, Akitse Kasun, the heroine of my story, "The Reincarnate Queen," has her inspiration from Queen Himiko of Yamatai, who was a badass Shamaness-Queen and was crowned high priestess and supreme ruler of her kingdom.
She holds the distinct honour of being the first badass chick in Japanese history. In fact, she's the first named and confirmed (male or female) figure in Japanese history, period.