Tag: Family Don’t End With Blood

Supernatural Cons 2018 – First Stop, Orlando!

Supernatural Cons 2018 – First Stop, Orlando!

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I’m just about to drag out my suitcase and toss some things in there to head to Las Vegas for the Supernatural convention that starts on Thursday – and I’m ridiculously excited! Vegas is one of my favorite cons. It’s an extra day of fun, it’s got so many of the friends I don’t get to see nearly enough all year long, and Jensen sings at the Saturday Night Special. The first time he did that, in 2015, was one of those experiences you never forget. Nobody expected him to come onstage and turn into this total effing rockstar, so afterwards we were all a bit stunned. Nobody could stop grinning; no one could stop hugging each other. We clung to each other like we’d just witnessed a piece of history, overflowing with wordless pure unadulterated joy. It was one of my favorite con moments ever.

So I always look forward to Vegas!

After Jensen’s 2015 SNS Performance

I was determined to post my Orlando con report before I leave for Vegas, so here it is, with almost an entire day to spare. Sure, that con was over a month ago, but hey, at least I met my admittedly generous deadline.

So, OrlandoCon 2018…

Orlando is a great place to have a convention in the middle of January, especially for those of us who live in the Northeast US and are sick of being frozen half to death. So I was thrilled to fly down a bit early and spend some time with my friends Liz and Kristen and Kim. The con hotel was across the footbridge from Disney Springs, so we trekked over there to explore and shop and have a delicious dinner in a café full of animated dinosaurs. Definitely in Disney!

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Supernatural Gets Wayward – What’s Special About Wayward Sisters

Supernatural Gets Wayward – What’s Special About Wayward Sisters

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One week from today, my favorite show will return from its winter hiatus, and I can’t wait. This return will be extra special, because of two things. One, it’s on my birthday – I suppose that’s only special to me, but it feels extra special because of the other thing. That other thing is the return episode will also be the “backdoor pilot” for a possible spin-off for Supernatural – Wayward Sisters.

What’s so special about that? The show has tried a backdoor pilot before, with the Bloodlines episode back in Season 9. That was a pretty spectacular failure – I adore this show, and I must confess even I didn’t like it. Largely because it didn’t feel like a Supernatural episode at all. There were no established characters who would transition to the new show, and the new characters seemed like they’d be more at home on Dynasty than on Supernatural. I couldn’t imagine Sam and Dean ever making a guest appearance – in fact, I was pretty sure they were secretly rolling their eyes at some of the newly introduced characters.

To the show’s credit, the overwhelming NO response to Bloodlines didn’t sour them on considering a spin-off. And they’ve learned from their mistakes. Wayward Sisters is different in a number of ways. First, it stars characters who are already established on Supernatural, and who fans already know and like (not every character is liked by every fan of course, but you can pretty much say that about any fictional character ever – there’s no such thing as unanimous liking and that’s okay). Jody Mills (Kim Rhodes) has been a recurring character for some time, as has Donna Hanscum (Briana Buckmaster) – both are fan favorites on the show and the actors are fan favorites on the Supernatural convention circuit too.

Also in the cast are Claire (Kathryn Newton) and Alex (Katherine Ramdeen), both of whom have been in multiple episodes of the show. In Season 13, we were introduced to Patience (Clark Backo) and Kaia (Yadira Guevara Prip), rounding out the cast. Instead of a bunch of characters we don’t know at all, this attempt at a spin-off utilizes characters who are already familiar to us as part of the Supernatural universe. That should make a big difference.

 

That’s not what makes Wayward Sisters special, though. Instead it’s the way the spinoff came about and the striking evolution that the composition of the show represents. Wayward Sisters, unlike its inspiration, Supernatural, is a cast of women. Don’t get me wrong, I think Supernatural has given us some amazing female characters over the years – the women of Wayward are some of them, but there are many more. The show was roundly criticized in its early days for the rarity of any episode passing the Bechdel test and for its use of the ‘fridging women’ trope to serve as inspiration for its tortured heroes. There has been evolution over the course of 13 years, in terms of cast and more slowly in terms of female writers and directors, but this is a leap forward, not a step. If the pilot flies, this is a show about women that, according to its cast, is committed not only to being told through the perspective of women, but to diversity of many kinds. That’s a lot of evolution for a little show on the CW.

That evolution is one of the unique things, but it’s not the only one. The other unique, maybe even unprecedented, thing about Wayward Sisters is the way it came to be. The idea for Bloodlines came from the usual places – producers, studio, network, showrunners, writers room. The idea for Wayward Sisters came from the fandom. And that really doesn’t happen. Fandom has all sorts of fabulous ideas, as anyone who’s been in a vibrant creative brilliant fandom like the Supernatural fandom knows. But those ideas don’t get heard, and even if they do, they certainly don’t get taken seriously to become reality! As Kim and Briana are fond of saying onstage at Supernatural conventions, “YOU. You did this.” And you know what? We did. And that’s pretty extraordinary.

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Last Con of 2017! Supernatural Returns to San Francisco

Last Con of 2017! Supernatural Returns to San Francisco

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The last con of 2017 was once again in San Francisco. It was an emotional con for me, because exactly one year ago, as I was attending this same convention, I got the news that my dad had unexpectedly passed away. I remember being in shock, only telling a few of my closest friends there – but word got around. My friends from Creation made sure I was okay, even walking me to my seat. My fellow fans checked on me all weekend long. And word got out to the cast too, who were incredibly kind. I remember Matt Cohen jumping off the stage in the middle of the Saturday Night Special, enfolding me in a hug and telling me how sorry he was for my loss; Jared and Jensen hugging me for a long time, asking me what I needed. Everyone was just so very kind – fandom and the SPNFamily at its best.

This year, the anniversary brought all that back. I was touched that many people remembered it had been a year, and didn’t hesitate to bring it up. Cons can be therapeutic for a lot of reasons, and this one definitely was. There’s nothing quite like being enfolded in your SPNFamily when you’re feeling emotional, for whatever reason.

It was also Mark Sheppard’s last convention with Creation. He’s been to just about all of them since he started on the show, so it’s just been a given that I’ll see him whenever I’m there. I’ve come to expect that Jared, Jensen, Misha and Mark will of course be there, every single time. Mark will be snarky and will answer one in five questions but will melt every time there’s a baby in the audience, and will suddenly get very real and give a heartfelt testimony about why he loves fandom before he leaves the stage. I don’t like change – I love Mark’s panels. I was tremendously honored that he wrote an essay for Family Don’t End With Blood, with many of those same heartfelt words about his love of fandom. I was lucky enough to spend a bit of time in the green room with him and other cast a few times, and was able to get to know him and his lovely wife Sarah a bit. It’s weird to think he won’t be there again.

Because this fandom can always be counted on to be awesome, Mark’s last con didn’t go unrecognized – just like Alex Calvert’s first con didn’t either. There were signs for all of us to hold up with the line Mark had wanted to say in his last episode, that inexplicably got cut. ‘Even when I lose, I win’ on red signs were held high all over the ballroom when Mark took the stage, and he was clearly moved. He pulled out his phone and started filming, and from where I was sitting, I could tell how much it meant to him. As the panel progressed, Mark was more serious than usual, and there were several times that I could see his eyes were glistening. Or maybe that was mine; it got hard to tell. I didn’t expect to be as emotional as I was, but when Mark left the stage I had already grabbed for the tissues several times. Thank you, Mark, for the amazing job you did bringing Crowley to life, for being a fan yourself and for loving fandom the way you do, and for being a part of Family Don’t End With Blood.

Those were the very emotional parts of this con – there were also parts that were purely fun. (Isn’t that always the case with cons? Half strong emotional reaction and half laughing until I’m needing a tissue for an entirely different reason).

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A Holiday Message from Family Don’t End With Blood

A Holiday Message from Family Don’t End With Blood

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In this holiday season, we wanted to take a moment to wish you peace. It’s the thing we hoped for when we wrote Family Don’t End With Blood – that everyone who reads it will realize that you truly are not alone, and find the peace that comes with that validation. Not that we don’t all feel alone sometimes, because we do – but that’s the point.  The actors who play our favorite characters on our favorite show (that would be Supernatural for anyone new here…) opened up when they wrote this book and shared very personal things about themselves, including their most difficult challenges and struggles, because that is the only way for us to not feel alone. We need to know that others have stood in our shoes and faced similar difficulties in order to feel validated. If those others are Jared and Jensen and Misha, or Kim and Briana and Ruth and Rachel, or Matt, Mark, Rob, Gil, Jim and Osric – then that validation is powerful in a different way than what we usually get. We all, both actors and fans, have struggled with anxiety and depression and that persistent fear of not being good enough. We all need to find acceptance and feel like we belong and have felt like we didn’t. The cast and the fans who shared their stories have all been there, and shared that with great courage – so we hope that when you read FDEWB, you can feel it.

I thought I’d share a few of the things that Jared, Jensen and Misha wrote for anyone who needs a reminder today of what this SPNFamily is all about (and why we have the Best. Cast. Ever. And the best fandom too!)

In his chapter, Jared opens up and tells the intensely personal story of his struggle with anxiety and depression – and how the Supernatural fandom taught him what he needed to know to keep fighting:

The fandom has taught me to Always Keep Fighting. More often than not, the fight sucks. But I guess what’s why it’s a fight. The fandom has helped me realize that there will be a brighter day on the horizon. It may be further off than you’d hope, but it’s there, and if you believe that and commit to fighting through hardships, you will find that peace.

As Misha says in his chapter:

Not everyone has a supportive family around them to help get you through the hard times. But luckily, in this SPNFamily, you may have landed in a supportive and loving community – a community that has your back.

That’s also why FDEWB benefits Random Acts and Attitudes in Reverse – because we are a community, and we do have each other’s backs.

Jensen puts it this way in his chapter:

You see, we’re not strangers anymore. You’re not strange to me. Of course we’re all a LITTLE strange – and we take the little bit of strange in each of us and mix those little bits all up together, all of us, and that’s why we love the relationship we have. You’re family.

That pretty much sums up what we wanted to say to the Supernatural fandom. We hope that every time you read Family Don’t End With Blood, you remember just how true that is and it brings you some peace and joy.

Happy holidays from all of us, and we look forward to seeing and hearing from all of you in 2018!

–Lynn

 

Salute to Supernatural: The Saturday Night Special – Hawaiian Style!

Salute to Supernatural: The Saturday Night Special – Hawaiian Style!

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Let me set the scene for you… it is a beautiful evening. The temperature is around 80 degrees, and it might drop to the upper 60’s by the time the sun sets. There is a slight breeze, so I am glad I brought a hoodie.

The Hilton Resort is a beachfront property. White sand, so soft and smooth under your toes. The soothing sound of the ocean as the waves gently cascade onto the beach. Walk with me along this beach, towards the lava-rock pier. Before you get to that pier, there is a lagoon on your right. Behind this lagoon is The Great Lawn, an area of soft green grass flanked by palm trees and hotel towers.

Now picture this lawn filled with round tables, each one with 10 chairs. Rows and rows of tables. And the tables face the stage. And behind the stage are palm trees and that lagoon, and to the right is that pier. Where the sun sets every night, in a glorious haze of blues and yellows and golds.

This is the scene for the Saturday Night Special. In Hawaii. Special. Is. So. Right.

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Where To Find It – All Our Books on Supernatural, The Boys and More!

Where To Find It – All Our Books on Supernatural, The Boys and More!

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Wondering where you can find Supes Ain’t Always Heroes, There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done, Family Don’t End With Blood and our other Supernatural books? Here’s all the information you need and links to order!

Supes Ain’t Always Heroes:

Our latest book is a deep dive into the hit streaming show The Boys, another masterpiece with Eric Kripke’s creative touch.  If you’re fascinated by the complicated heroes and villains (and trying to figure out which is which), dig into insights from psychologists, sociologists, media experts and the actors who bring the characters to life – including exclusive interview chapters with Jensen Ackles (Soldier Boy), Aya Cash (Stormfront), Nate Mitchell (Black Noir) and Jim Beaver (Bob Singer) and commentary from many of the other cast members. Plus a fascinating interview with co-creator of The Boys comic series Darick Robertson!

If you love this show’s twisted sense of humor or its biting social commentary or the way we love to hate (hate to love?) its characters, you’ll find something to fascinate you in Supes Ain’t Always Heroes.

Order here:

Supes Ain’t Always Heroes

There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done:

There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done: Actors and Fans Celebrate the Legacy of Supernatural is an emotional look back at the television show Supernatural as it wraps up its final season after fifteen unprecedented years on air.

Supernatural actors Hugo Ateo, Andrea Drepaul, Adam Fergus, Carrie Genzel, David Haydn-Jones, Chad Lindberg, Lee Majdoub, Julie McNiven, Tahmoh Penikett, Lee Rumohr, Richard Speight Jr., Todd Stashwick, Shoshannah Stern, Brendan Taylor, Gabe Tigerman, Lauren Tom, and Rick Worthy all shared their own experience with the show, the cast and their characters. Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles’ chapters pull together some of the most heartfelt and emotional things they’ve had to say at public events over the past year about the show ending, plus new thoughts on Sam and Dean’s legacy.  Misha Collins contributed a special hopeful message that is short but heartfelt, and is the perfect ending for the book. Eric Kripke himself gave us a brief message about his “little show that could” for the back cover. And over twenty fans wrote about what Supernatural has meant to them and what its legacy will be in the world.

Every purchase benefits Random Acts (Misha’s global charity) and SPNSurvivors (a suicide prevention non-profit), whose work is more important now than ever!

There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done is the ultimate send-off for this iconic show that has touched and changed the lives of so many fans across all walks of life. The book gives us all something to hang onto as the show comes to an end, and to always remember just how special Supernatural is and will always be.

Click here to order!

Family Don’t End With Blood:

Family Don’t End With Blood is an inspiring, emotional book written by the Supernatural actors and fans about what the show has meant to them. Jared, Jensen, Misha, Kim, Briana, Ruth, Rachel, Mark, Matt, Rob, Osric, Jim and Gil and a dozen Supernatural fans all share their very personal stories of how being on Supernatural and part of the SPNFamily has changed their lives. We love hearing that reading this book has inspired others to keep fighting too – and every purchase benefits Random Acts and Attitudes in Reverse to help make a difference!

Click Here to Order!

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Spotlight on SPNFamily Creativity and Making A Difference – Little Pop Workshop!

Spotlight on SPNFamily Creativity and Making A Difference – Little Pop Workshop!

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Sometimes it really helps to shine a light on all the good things about fandom – how we help each other, how we help others, how we try to make change in the world. It’s an integral part of fandom, and one that I cherish – that’s why every purchase of Family Don’t End With Blood benefits Random Acts’ important work helping those who need it all over the world, and Attitudes in Reverse with their mission of ending stigma and opening up conversation about mental health challenges to combat suicide. On this #GivingTuesday, if you haven’t read FDEWB yet, you can help make a difference by picking up a book for yourself or for a friend. Most of the Supernatural actors wrote chapters — Jared, Jensen, Misha and many others — in which they shared their own personal struggles and challenges, hoping that will inspire others to keep going when the going gets tough.

The book has been our way of trying to help, but there are so many people in fandom whose creative talents enrich us all and also make a difference.

Recently a wonderful thing happened in the fandom that also benefits one of Misha Collin’s many charitable endeavors. With the help of charitable organizer Stands on twitter, the “I Wish For This” campaign to benefit Lydia Place was launched. Lydia Place works to disrupt the pervasive cycle of homelessness and foster autonomy for families, something that Collins knows about from personal experience. Fan artist Little Pop Work made a customized Pop Funko Misha doll which was signed by Misha as an incentive to participate in the campaign – which was seriously awesome!

The I Wish For This Misha Pop is based on the touching story that Misha has told about his daughter, Maison. When Misha asked his kids what they wanted to wish for as they picked dandelions and got ready to make a wish on them, Maison simply replied “I wish for this.” Misha can’t tell the story without tearing up, and frankly I’ve never been able to listen to it without tearing up either.

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Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles on Writing a Book for the SPNFamily – and Being Thankful

Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles on Writing a Book for the SPNFamily – and Being Thankful

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It’s the season in which we celebrate what we’re thankful for, and this year I’m very thankful for a television show. Not just because it has brought me tremendous joy over the past twelve plus years, or because it has allowed me to find some of my closest friends, or even because it has gotten me through some tough times. This year I’m thankful that Supernatural and the special people who make the show and are fans of the show allowed me to give something back to the community I love – the SPNFamily.

Even at this time of year – maybe especially at this time of year – many of us are hurting. As a psychologist, I know that better than most. Anxiety, depression, self doubt, and loneliness make life a lot more challenging. One of the things that helps is feeling like you’re not alone in your struggles, particularly if people you relate to or admire have been through some of the same challenges. That was the idea behind Family Don’t End With Blood, a book with chapters written by most of the actors on Supernatural as a message of support and encouragement to the fandom. When you hear that the Supernatural actors have doubted themselves, fallen into despair, even wondered if they could get up again and keep fighting – but that they DID – and you read it in their own words, raw and uncensored, that is the best kind of inspiration to do the same. I was honored to work with the actors and fans to put this book together.

Since Family Don’t End With Blood has been published, we’ve received countless emails, tweets and messages about how someone read the book when they were at their lowest point, and this was the thing that convinced them to keep fighting. That words written by Kim Rhodes or Briana Buckmaster or one of the other actors rang so true they felt understood. That words written by Jensen Ackles or Misha Collins or Jared Padalecki convinced them they really were not alone. The actors have heard the same from many fans, on social media and at conventions. We are all so very grateful. We wanted the book to make a difference, and we are absolutely blown away by how much of a difference Family Don’t End With Blood has made.

The stars of Supernatural were in Washington DC for a convention with Creation Entertainment a few weeks ago, celebrating the success of Season 13 of the show and answering fans’ questions. Many of the actors appearing at the convention also wrote chapters in Family Don’t End With Blood. Both fans and actors shared in the book how the show has made an impact on them, changing lives and in some cases even literally saving lives. As fans, we often take this for granted, knowing how life-changing it can be to be passionate about a television show or a film or a band or whatever it is we geek out about. But in the case of Supernatural, the show and the fandom have had an equal impact on the actors, including the two actors who bring the iconic characters of Sam and Dean Winchester to life, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles.  At the convention, Jensen and Jared were onstage for a panel and were asked by a fan about their experience writing chapters in Family Don’t End With Blood. They shared some insights about that process and about working with me as editor of the book (both seriously and with playful ribbing, which is par for the course with Jared and Jensen).

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Supernatural Comes To The Capital – DC Con 2017

Supernatural Comes To The Capital – DC Con 2017

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Right now Honcon (aka Conolulu) is in full swing, and it looks like one of the most amazing cons ever, so I’m sad not to be there – though it’s always a surprisingly emotional experience to follow along at home too. I always end up struck by the generosity of fandom, so grateful for very photo shared, every live tweet, every bit of information, and every video clip. I was especially grateful for the live audio feed for Honcon, which made me feel more like I was there – and made me anticipate the visuals that would eventually be shared even more! I knew that Jared was probably going to play guitar at this con, so I was especially grateful to be able to “experience” it live, even if it was mostly audio. It was a moment that was eventful and meaningful for a fandom that lately has been more fractured than family, and that felt really good – and I desperately wanted to be a part of it. Luckily, the generosity of fandom allowed that, and we all felt like we were sharing the moment with Jared, Jensen, Misha and company.

Today is the Sunday of that convention, so while I wait for more panel news from twitter I thought I’d go through my DCCon photos and post some memories of that con – which was only a week ago!

DC is a political place, and this is a cast of strong beliefs, so it wasn’t surprising that Richard started off the con with a shout out to the #metoo message, an admonition to men not to be assholes and to respect women, and a reassurance to the mostly female audience.

Richard: This is the year of women standing up and not taking shit anymore, and we’ve got your back! Let’s make this the new normal.

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Rob Benedict Talks Family Don’t End With Blood, Louden Swain and Kings of Con!

Rob Benedict Talks Family Don’t End With Blood, Louden Swain and Kings of Con!

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One day last week, I was driving my niece to school with the Louden Swain ‘Saturday Night Special’ cd playing. My niece has a developmental disability and is not very verbal and that can make life extra challenging. It was early, but when Eskimo came on, without thinking I turned it up a bit and maybe started singing. And maybe started drumming on my steering wheel a little. (Hey, it’s one of my favorite songs, so…) Suddenly I heard a noise to my right and noticed movement. I turned my head, and my niece was not only humming along but was air drumming enthusiastically. With the BIGGEST smile on her face. I grinned back and we rocked the hell out of the rest of that song, and then put it on repeat. It was one of the most fun drives I’ve ever had at 8:00 in the morning.

A few days later, I had a chance to catch up with Rob Benedict and I shared that story.

Rob: Awww, that’s so sweet, I love that.

Lynn: Your music is pretty special, obviously.

Rob: That’s so great.

Lynn: it was. So thanks for that. Okay, so questions. First I wanted to ask you about the chapter you wrote for Family Don’t End With Blood. You really did write a very personal and very powerful chapter, all about having a stroke at the Toronto convention several years ago. So many fans who have read it have told me how moved they were by your chapter. What kind of feedback have you gotten, and how does it feel now to have written such a personal unguarded chapter?

Rob: It’s been absolutely overwhelming, the response. There are still a number of people who didn’t really know that happened to me. So it varies, from people feeling empathy to people saying a similar thing happened to someone that they know, or just that the sentiment was something that they recognized. People say the nicest things, about it being one of their favorite chapters in the book, and all sorts of unbelievably gracious and complimentary things. I wind up signing as many books as I do head shots of myself. I think it means a lot to people. And I don’t think you automatically get my autograph with your ticket to the con or whatever.

Lynn: No, you hardly ever do. Unfortunately.

Rob: Right, so people are buying that so I can sign their book, which I think is the biggest compliment to you and the effect that Family Don’t End With Blood has had on people.

Lynn: And to you, because your chapter is one of the ones that really made an impact! I’ve gotten such incredible reactions to the book. It had the exact effect that we were all hoping for – as support and inspiration for people when they’re struggling. I’ve heard stories of people sharing the book with their parent, saying this is what’s helping me not cut anymore. I’ve heard people say that this makes all the difference – that they’ve been ready to give up, and then went back and read one of the chapters about people they admire having their own life and death struggles – and decided to keep going.

Rob: Ah that’s amazing, that’s what I mean about it being overwhelming. It’s like, you almost can’t even fathom how much it means to people and how life saving it’s been. I’ve experienced that with our music as well. It’s something about this fandom that I don’t think people really comprehend. How deep it really goes.

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