I love writers all across the board, but one who influenced me very directly at the beginning was Mary Renault.
My father never saw me play ball, and I was an outstanding ballplayer. I missed all that adoration.
I'm named after a horse. My mom's best friend had a horse named Brooke, so my dad suggested 'Brooklyn' as a more formal version, and it just stuck - and now I live in Brooklyn part-time, so go figure.