Ever since I can remember, I have had a love for ghost stories, but at the age of 13, I stumbled across a volume of short stories called The Shadow Over Innsmouth, and other tales of horror by H.P. Lovecraft.  I was blown away!  Gothic haunted houses gave way to lurkers in shadows that were connected to incomprehensible (and unspeakable) cosmic horrors.  To say that this collection had an influence on my writing would be a gross understatement.  All of my work, including Gamble's Run, can trace its lineage back to this trade paperback.