Terry Brooks, Ben Bova

Ben and Terry both helped jump-start my writing career. Terry is the New York Times Bestselling author of such novels as The Sword of Shannara (and its many sequels) and Magic Kingdon for Sale: SOLD! (and its sequels). Ben is a hard-SF author, formerly the 6-time Hugo award winning editor of Omni and Analog magazines, and president emeritus of the National Space Society, having been a consultant to NASA and the US Space Program since its origins. He is the former president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America guild. He is/was personal friends of many of the astronauts (including those who walked on the moon), many major scientists, and some of the world's most legendary authors in the genre (including Frank Herbert, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Carl Sagan, etc).