“List the first fifteen authors you  recall  who’ve influenced you and that will always stick with you.”

I feel like the rules require a degree of “predicting the future”—How will I know what will always stick with me? At one point I thought I’d love Jesus forever, but I don’t any more, and authors are a bit less holy than the Lord. I will give mad props to Woody Allen, Jerome D., F. Scott, Carl Sagan, Oliver Sacks, Mr. Kierkegaard, Turgenev and Gertrude Stein (since they mated and created the monster I published in Tyrant), The author of Tobit, Petronius, Kevin Hyde, Marilynne Robinson, Mary Robison, and whoever wrote A Sentimental Education. Oh. And Dusty Springfield.