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Yes. All I can think is it might be the name of somebody in the Bible. Strictly speaking it doesn't matter but it is, of course, irritating.

The fact that there was no obvious connection between the extra word in 11d and the main permutation of the six letters led me to think that the extra word was the key to the whole puzzle, but it seems to be a red herring.

I think 40a is a poor clue in a puzzle like this. I thought of LOOSING yesterday but rejected it and have been searching for something better ever since. I also thought of the aforementioned drama but rejected that because it's been done recently and there was so little in the puzzle to lead to that. All but one of the extra words seem to be completely irrelevant.

Perhaps I've made a mistake, but I cannot see the thematically modified author anyway in any direction, diagonally, vertically or horizontally, or is it a non-linear representation?. I can trace the first name but that may be accidental.

I have to agree, unfortunately. The grid seems to have very little to suggest the theme (other than the mid-part of the main diagonal), and the extra words are clever but equally as useless, it seems.
Didn't see the first name in there - I'll have to have another look at the grid over a tea (or stronger) at home.

Dryden, do you agree that the author is not British? I can't see his first name.

Many thanks. 5ac fro is short for afro and nt for not. Got luigis surname ok so the grid is technically complete but not yet satisfied with the explanation of the six characters or how derived from search.

Anagrams of search give arches and probably five others

Raches. Chaser. Eschar. Chares. Is esrach one too?

Thanks for afro, I hadn't thought of that. The final problem, as far as I'm concerned is which anagram of "search" is a "hotelier".

I had thought of Esrach as possibly an inn-keeper in the Bible or something but it/he doesn't seem to exist. Possibly Ascher as a name of a hotelier?

Sacher torte