Ray Bradbury was the first author that I was really exposed to back in grade school. I'm a big Philip K. Dick fan, but the emotion and humanity that Bradbury brings to his stories and the way he uses sci-fi to get at the human heart is something that's unique and for me incredibly influential.
“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”
“Magnetism, as you recall from physics class, is a powerful force that causes certain items to be attracted to refrigerators.”