Jorge Luis Borges - I love him almost in spite of myself -

Ann Lamott, Barbara Kingsolver, John Irving and most of all Gregory Maguire!

Oh dear, that's quite a few. Does that make me a slut?

Oh, and John Steinbeck.

Frank Herbert and Jane Austen. With Christopher Moore running a close third. You can just imagine how crazed my writing must be to have three such idols. Sci-fi, high-society romance, with a big streak of goofy good humor. Ah, I can dream, eh?

How do I write a post that won't take me all day? :)
Okay, a few of many, many examples, from different genres:
Ursula Hegi (and if someone out there knows how to pronounce her last name, please tell me!). _Stones From the River_ bowled me over, but more recently I read her first published novel, _Intrusions_, which I think should be required for every budding and blossoming writer. It's a terrific teaching piece on process.
Bruce Chatwin, whose _The Songlines_ is one of the few books that, after reading, I buy multiple copies of to send to friends "just because."
The same goes for Anita Diamant's _The Red Tent_.
And Stephen Baxter's _Evolution_.
And I LOVE the satire of David Sedaris.
And the nonfiction of John McPhee.
And, yes, Borges -- I was introduced to his writings when I was in high school and they blew me away.
And I've been galvanized by the poetry of Marge Piercy, Ntozake Shange, June Jordan, Audre Lorde, Mark Doty, and more.
And that's just for starters...

Yeah, where to start?

I'll just put Poe up here, because he's responsible for starting this whole mess of my life as a writer. All the way back in 4th grade. :-)

DOROTHY PARKER