Tolkien. No explanation needed there.

Dean Koontz. Don't hate. He's a master of his genre, and taught me how to indulge in rapid-fire, first-person narration.

Jack London. Perhaps the best describer I've ever read. He made you see, hear, smell, and feel everything. 

Edgar Allan Poe. Never be afraid to be weird. 

Madeleine L'engle. Let your heart soar through your stories, and break earthly boundaries. 

Charlotte Brontë. There is beauty in internal torment and the drawn-out agonies of unfulfilled longing. 

I'm sure there are many more, but that's enough for now.