Ben Galley asked Andy Peloquin:

Which authors have inspired you the most, either through their books or their attitude to writing?

Andy Peloquin I think there have been three authors that really influenced me most:

1. Brent Weeks -- I fell in LOVE with his Night Angel trilogy, but I wasn't a fan of the Kylar Stern character; I wanted more Durzo! There were so few fantasy novels that focused on an older (40+) assassin character rather than the more common (at the time) coming-of-age series. So I decided to write one! Thus, the Hunter of Voramis was born.
2. Scott Lynch -- Everything about his world--characters, religious system, worldbuilding, and cynical worldview--spoke to me. A lot of my stories have a similar vibe or atmosphere to his because it imprinted on me in a way that few other fantasy series ever have.
3. Brandon Sanderson -- When I find myself uncertain of where to go in a story or how to structure a sentence, I ask "What would Brandon Sanderson do?" Then I pop open one of his books (usually Stormlight Archives) and find an example that gives me an idea of how to proceed. Definitely more along the craft (grammar, sentence structure, syntax, etc.) than the story and character progression, though.

There have been many more--A.C. Doyle, E.R. Burroughs, C.S. Lewis, and the list goes on--but I'd say these three have been the most directly influential in my career thus far.

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