Dean Koontz, Niel Gaiman, Poppy Z Brite, Clive Barker, V.C. Andrews, Mark Twain, Connie Willis, Edgar Allen Poe, Donatien Alphonse Francois, Marilyn Vos Savant, William Gibson, Spider Robinson, Robert A. Heinlein, Lewis Carroll, Larry Niven, L. Frank Baum, H.G. Wells, Brothers Grimm, Jules Verne, Verner Vinge, Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, Harry Turtledove, Walter M. Miller, Isaac Asimov, Hal Clement, Thomas Harris, Miyamoto Musashi, Sun Tsu...
Top the the list of my favorite authors, but, the first name that comes to mind is always Lovecraft.
Anthony