Improbable Press Blog

By Verity Burns There are hundreds of books on my bookshelves. And on the floor. In the bathroom. Piled up by my bed… It’s a collection built up over forty years and most have been read more than once – some many, many times. They are old friends. But if I had to pick one author… Just a single set of books to take with me on some mythical trip… That author would be Peter O’Donnell. Those tales would be of Modesty Blaise. It’s hard to say exactly why. The stories are action adventures. They’re exciting, often exotic, with colourful...

MAN: Women are more emotional than men. WOMAN: *begins speaking*MAN: No really, they are.WOMAN: *begins—*MAN: It’s so obvious.WOMAN: *be—*MAN: They’re completely at the mercy of their emotions.WOMAN: *nuclear explosion of teeth-baring hatred*MAN: See, I told you.This little expositionary tale (paraphrased from an actual Twitter exchange) is to make a point and that point is this: to get attention, some people will metaphorically poke and poke and poke a bear with a stick, so they can prove bears are dangerous.Next time someone wanders into your comments with their stick, telling you that your favourite character “would never” be a top, a...

Before I discuss my strangest search engine searches, let me say I love fandom because it’s led me to learn peculiar, new things. I learned about the birth of the telegraph and so wrote a story about Sherlock Holmes and John Watson as little boys, I wrote a story about Holmes and Watson as computers when I learned there’s software named Holmes, and a machine called Watson. Research has also led me along paths I did not see myself skipping down, but skip I have and you can pry the knowledge I’ve gained from my cold, dead browser history and...

Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote, scored, and starred in 'Hamilton' on Broadway. "I find that, for me, the work is a safe place to put all the stuff you don't want to put in your real life. I don't want to be a crazy, manic asshole. I don't want to have an affair. I don't want to have a fucking gunfight. But!   "There's a part of your brain that wants to experience everything, and so work's a safe place to explore it all. Both in the writing and in the performing.   "I get to write about an affair. I get...

Ray Bradbury wrote more magically than I ever will. Benedict Cumberbatch and Domhnall Gleeson have achieved more in their young years than I can hope to emulate. At my most muscular my thighs were chubbier than women I thought looked absolutely right. There. That's my starter pack of comparisons that bring me absolutely no damned joy whatsoever. I can go on. I have. I probably will in future. The problem with my list, your list, everyone's list about how they fail in comparison to someone else is that usually the comparisons don't make us better, they rob us of our...