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 in a novel by this author, which follows two mathematical prodigies whose father worked on the atomic bomb. This author's 2022 novel (*) Stella Maris was written as a “coda” (10[1])to his novel published earlier that year, The Passenger. The protagonist of a novel by this author joins the Glanton Gang under Judge (10[1])Holden. For 10 points, (10[1])name this late author who created the “Kid” in his western epic Blood Meridian. ■END■