In a novel by this author, a woman cries while reading a letter that reveals the location of a lost Amati violin. This author dedicated an early copy of one of his novels to his friend John Sheddan, whose death in an empty theater is fictionalized in a later novel by this author. A man reminisces on his schizophrenic sister’s hallucinations of the Thalidomide Kid (15[1])in a (15[1])novel (15[1])by this author, (15[1])which follows two mathematical prodigies whose father worked on the atomic bomb. This author's 2022 novel (*) Stella Maris (10[4])was written (10[2])as a “coda” (10[2]-5[1])to his novel published earlier that year, The Passenger. (10[2])The protagonist (10[1])of a novel by this author joins the Glanton Gang under Judge (10[1])Holden. (10[4])For 10 points, (10[2])name this late (10[1])author who created the “Kid” in his western epic Blood (10[1])Meridian. (10[2])■END■ (10[3])