When academics go to Hollywood!
Happy Halloween, SPN Family! We loved this week’s episode – it felt like the quirky, zany, fun episode that we needed after the heartbreak of last week’s episode. We were swept along as the story played out, laughing sometimes and gasping at others, and though it wasn’t really scary, there was enough suspense to keep us on board as we went along for the ride. And really, a story about Oz and the Wicked Witch? Perfect for Halloween!
Our weekend at the Chicago Con brought a surreal feeling of coming full circle – in a wonderful way. Chicon was our very first Creation Supernatural con, way back in 2007 (SPN wasn’t even popular enough to warrant its own convention then, so we shared it with a few Buffy and Angel alums). We did the first interviews for our book here, and met one of our favorite people, Richard Speight, here. Back then, we didn’t know if our little book on Supernatural and its amazing fans would ever come to fruition, and we had no idea the circuitous route it would take to finally get published. It seems fitting that Fangasm: Supernatural Fangirls was published this month, and here we are back in Chicago once again. It seems even more fitting that Richard is here too, along with two of the photographers who contributed their beautiful photos to the book, Chris Schmelke and Lizz Sisson, and of course quite a few of the actors whose interviews are some of the best parts of Fangasm – Jared, Jensen, Misha, Matt, Richard and Samantha. What we could never have anticipated is that everyone connected with our favorite Show would be so supportive, let alone that they’d all actually read it!
Damned if Season 9’s second episode didn’t continue the wild ride that this season is turning out to be. Once again, the anticipation leading up to the episode was contagious, as everyone held their breath waiting to see if the momentum begun in the premiere would continue. The fandom seems as energized as Sam and Dean, who seem more motivated than they’ve been in a long time by being on the same side again and having something they understand to fight against. There’s something almost old school about the Winchesters going up against angels and demons – it feels familiar to me, and to them. Dangerous, yes, but they have some idea what they’re dealing with, and so do we. There’s a sort of cowboy western feel about the season, Sam and Dean going in with “guns blazing” and shoulder to shoulder, like back in the good old days (also known as Seasons 1 through 4). Jensen’s comment that Dean is ‘back in the driver’s seat’ rings true – Dean is in leader mode, confident and cocky despite the guilt that’s underneath, and clearly happy and relieved to have Sam back to 100% and at his side.
No wonder the CW’s Tuesday night had its highest ratings in four years!
The Supernatural convention in beautiful Toronto wrapped up yesterday — due to flight cancellations and all-around craziness, we didn’t arrive until mid-day Saturday, but damn, the con packed alot into the next 18 hours! (Though we’re still sobbing about missing what was by all accounts an epic karaoke. There’s nothing like watching the guy who so convincingly plays Death bounce around the stage like an exuberant teenager. Not to mention Matt Cohen in his cheerleading skirt, which no longer seems to want to cover his toned abs. Not that we’ve heard any complaints. Or lodged any.)
The title of the Supernatural Season premiere, “I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here,” is much more interesting now that I’ve seen the episode. Who’s gonna like it where? Cas as a human on Earth? The rest of the angels now roaming the planet? Ezekiel inside Sam? Sam still alive instead of downing a few cold ones with Bobby in Heaven?
Excellent questions. And that’s a good thing to be able to say about a season premiere. The episode stirred up controversy, but even that says something about the passion and investment that fans feel in a show going into its ninth season – and also something about its complexity.
ONE MORE DAY until Supernatural returns for Season 9! If you just can’t get enough SPN in your life (I mean, really, who can??) then you might want to celebrate the new season by reading our new book, Fangasm: Supernatural Fangirls! (You can tell how much it amused Jared and Jensen above….okay boys, you can stop laughing now…no, really…)
Thanks to everyone who entered the Iowa Press contest for a free copy by tweeting why you’d like to read the book. Our publisher is contacting ten randomly selected fans – they told us there were so many wonderful tweets, they had a hard time only picking ten! If you aren’t getting your copy at one of the charity auctions we’ve donated to (WinchesterBros.com is currently running their auction on ebay) and didn’t win a free one from our publisher, you can still get your copy of Fangasm from amazon by clicking on the link at the top right of this page – apparently it’s on SALE. Maybe amazon is celebrating the premiere of Season 9 too?!
We first discovered Jason Manns’ beautiful music right after we fell in love with Supernatural and dove into the wild and wonderful world of fandom. As we scoured the internet for anything and everything related to SPN, we ran across a YouTube video of Jensen Ackles singing ‘Crazy Love’ at someone’s wedding – with another guy who had a gorgeous voice. That turned out to be Jason Manns. He and his good friend Jensen have since harmonized onstage and on a special CD single of Crazy Love, and Jason has become part of the SPNFamily. We’ve had the pleasure of seeing him perform and of sitting down to chat with Jason quite a few times over the course of writing Fangasm. During one of those chats, we decided to collaborate, with Jason offering a free download of one of his songs as a bonus for Fangasm readers. You’ll find an exclusive download code in Fangasm, so you can enjoy Jason’s beautiful music while you read. If you haven’t discovered his talent yet, you’re in for a treat!
That’s Jared doing his ‘Fangasm’ impression for us – pretty realistic, don’t you think? It’s one of the photos from our new book on Supernatural and its awesome fans, Fangasm, which goes on sale TODAY.
Fangasm is our celebration of the best Show in the world, and the most wonderful fandom, the SPN Family. It’s the uncensored story of our love affair with SPN, and our five-year roadtrip through Supernatural fandom, from meeting hundreds of fellow fans who are now friends and SPN Family, to discovering the wild and wonderful world of online fandom and the too-much-fun-to-sleep craziness of conventions.
We also take you behind the scenes and onto the set of Supernatural. Jared, Jensen, Misha, Jim, Richard, Samantha, Chad, and many other SPN actors and crew shared candid answers to our sometimes unexpected questions. Eric Kripke and Sera Gamble told us how they envisioned the show, and asked us as many questions as we asked them. Of course, none of this went smoothly, as we crisscrossed the US and Canada and our families and friends wondered if we’d lost our minds. We found ourselves in embarrassing situations far too often, and learned to laugh at ourselves every time we blundered into yet another one. Come along and laugh with us — but while you’re laughing, we hope the underlying message gets through, because it’s one we take seriously. Fandom changed us. For the better. Somewhere along the way, we figured out who we were and what we liked, even if it was a little sci fi genre television show that nobody else had ever heard of. No shame, fangirls and fanboys. We all deserve to be who we are and love what we want and to celebrate that passion!
With lovely cover blurbs by the SPN fangirl behind the SuperWiki, Jules — Mo Ryan, television critic for the Huffington Post — and Tony Zierra and Elizabeth Yoffe, the producer and director of the provocative film My Big Break.
To celebrate Fangasm’s publication, our lovely publisher is giving away ten free copies. Just tweet why you’re looking forward to reading the book with the following –
“I want to read Fangasm…”
Fill in the rest any way you want. Because Supernatural is awesome? Because I’m a fangirl too? For the chats with Misha – Jared — Jensen? For the pretty pictures?
End your tweet with the hashtag #FreeFangasm and @FangasmSPN so the publisher can track the tweets and randomly select ten winners. You’ll get a free book, and the publisher will post your review on their website. Contest runs from 10/1 to 10/4.
If you don’t want to wait, you can click the link at the top right of this page to order Fangasm now from Amazon. Happy reading!