Those are some good writers and books! I would have liked to hear more about what you like about "Shakespeare, Edgar Alan Poe, Dostoyevsky, Kafka, Joyce, Borges and George Eliot, C.S. Lewis, and Tolkien" (quite the list). I also admire Paul Bowles--The Sheltering Sky is brilliant, and his first novel! (I think). There does seem to be a particular Moroccan approach to tales (or we could call it North African and then include Camus) and it is interesting you have found yourself inspired along these lines. Bowles also translated folk tales from several Moroccans, most notably Mohammed Mrabet and was heavily inspired by them both in content and oral approach.
Those are some good writers and books! I would have liked to hear more about what you like about "Shakespeare, Edgar Alan Poe, Dostoyevsky, Kafka, Joyce, Borges and George Eliot, C.S. Lewis, and Tolkien" (quite the list). I also admire Paul Bowles--The Sheltering Sky is brilliant, and his first novel! (I think). There does seem to be a particular Moroccan approach to tales (or we could call it North African and then include Camus) and it is interesting you have found yourself inspired along these lines. Bowles also translated folk tales from several Moroccans, most notably Mohammed Mrabet and was heavily inspired by them both in content and oral approach.