Harlan Ellison has been hugely influential on fantasy writers including but not limited to J.K. Rowling and Neil Gaiman. According to Neil, he mostly decided t

Harlan Ellison has been hugely influential on fantasy writers including but not limited to J.K. Rowling and Neil Gaiman. According to Neil, he mostly decided to become a fiction writer after reading one of Harlan's collections of short stories. Rowling's Death Eaters seems to me to be a direct lift from Ellison's Flop Sweat but as they say, it's the highest form of flattery Excerpt: Figures in long black garments, with drawn cowls that covered their faces. And strange, sickly purple light, the faintest, most terrible glow, shining out from beneath the cowls. They stared in at her. She could see no eyes: but they were staring in at her. Ellison, Harlan. Shatterday (Kindle Locations 1028-1030). Open Road Media. Kindle Edition. Ellison may also be the inspiration for some of Harry Potter's adventures in the shops of Diagon Alley. See Shoppe Keeper Excerpt: The sign proclaimed Shoppe of Wonders and beneath those words in curlicued but extremely readable Islamic calligraphy: Your Heart’s Desire. Ellison, Harlan. Shatterday (Kindle Locations 1593-1595). Open Road Media. Kindle Edition.