I’ve written a novel that includes segments of mystery novels by one J. Wisdome, pseudonymous author of the Sgt. String series. Now I’m writing another novel, this one made up of more of J. Wisdome’s stories (those that didn’t quite make it into the first book, mainly because I hadn’t written them yet). Or maybe I should call it a novel-like compendium, or a story collection; let’s bracket the label decision for a later time.
When I write as J. Wisdome, it becomes a pen name +, maybe a pen name2. My more mathematical friends can probably help me with that. What interests me is the mechanics of story-making, the rhythm–and the chance to interrupt the rhythm. To play. Writing in a different order, not necessarily beginning to end. Pieces I will put together later, or am putting together as I go along. Except that I rearrange them. Unravel them. J. Wisdome enjoys knitting. Personally, I don’t have the patience for it. 
Some of the connections aren’t dissimilar to those in Detours, my set of prose poems (or flash fictions–again, the categories matter, but maybe they don’t). Some connections might be more proper to the plodding detective, obliged to connect the dots. Sgt. String has to take what comes: an ice archivist, a murdered pastry chef, a foreign language entrepreneur who takes his inspiration from the biblical story of the Tower of Babel.
If you’re curious, recent Sgt. String stories can be found on J. Wisdome’s very own home page, jwisdome.com. J. tweets story morsels from time to time, too: (@j_wisdome).
Join me on another odd detour, a path in the making?