Tag: Family Don’t End With Blood

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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Because Family Really Don’t End With Blood

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It’s World Mental Health Day. As a psychologist, this day carries an important message – the same message we all tried to convey in Family Don’t End With Blood. The Supernatural actors — Jared, Jensen, Misha, Mark, Kim, Briana, Ruth, Rachel, Gil, Osric, Rob, Matt and Jim — wrote their own chapters, about their own personal experience on the show and in life, in order to NOT be silent about the challenges we all face in life. They wrote courageously, especially as public figures who are often cautioned to be quiet about their struggles and present a perfect persona instead, about battling anxiety, depression, self doubt. About times when it was hard to keep going, and how they did just that. They shared their struggles because too often we all think that we’re the only one. The only one who feels this bad, the only one who’s this terrified, the only one who wants what we want or loves what we love. We all need the validation that comes from knowing that others have felt the same way. When those others are our favorite actors on our favorite show — or our fellow fans who share our passion — that validation carries even more weight. That’s why we all, fans and actors alike, wrote this book.

That picture at the top of the page? That’s Jared and Jensen expressing how they feel about each other’s chapters in FDEWB. Family Don’t End With Blood has been out for five months now, and in that time I’ve been privileged to hear hundreds and hundreds of stories from fellow fans about how reading those personal essays, in an actor’s or fan’s own words, has inspired someone else to keep going. I try to pass those on to Jared, Jensen, Misha and the other actors and fans who wrote chapters so they will know that when someone reads their words, they have an impact. They help someone feel less alone, or less ashamed, or less consumed with doubt or sadness. I can’t tell  you how much that means to all of them. Honestly, it was hard for them to write those chapters. It took a long time because it was important to them all to get it right, and it was very scary to put themselves out there like that.  But when you read their words, you know that they get it. You know there’s a real bond there, between actors and fans, that’s unique and rare and very special.

So on this day, remember that. Remember that You Are Not Alone. Hug someone in our #SPNFamily today, either in person or virtually.

 

Tell someone how you feel, and remember that many of your fellow SPNFamily have felt some of those same things.

Take Jared’s words to heart and Always Keep Fighting.

And remember that in this fandom, for both fans and actors, Family Don’t End With Blood.

–Lynn

A portion of proceeds goes to Random

Acts and Attitudes In Reverse

 

The #WoManns Con – Supernatural New Jersey!

The #WoManns Con – Supernatural New Jersey!

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New Jersey con holds a special place in my heart, simply because it’s the closest con to my hometown of Philly. That means I can actually drive there instead of flying, which makes being a vendor a bit easier. That also meant I could caption this con ‘Adventures in Vending’ because we definitely had some adventures – and some misadventures.

Being a Supernatural con vendor is like joining a tribe of frankly awesome people. For the SPN Creation cons, it’s mostly the same group of friendly, creative, resourceful folks at every convention – and because those cons happen a few times a month on average, the vendors get to know each other very well. They’re like a group of traveling carnies, moving their wares from one city to the next. They have each other’s backs just like the rest of the SPNFamily does, and I would trust any one of them if I was in a tight spot.

That doesn’t mean vending is easy. My friend Karen offered to help me out at NJCon, so we drove up together. The day before, the FedEx guy delivered my many many boxes of books, each of which weighs over 40 pounds. I bolted out the door as soon as he pulled up and asked what the policy was for leaving the books in my car instead of on my doorstep, and luckily the very nice FedEx man agreed. When Karen and I got in the car the next day, I swear it felt sort of like getting into a rocket ship – the boxes of books in the trunk and back seat made the front of the car point dangerously towards the sky.

With apologies to my poor overburdened Honda Civic, we started out, slowly making our way north to scenic Secaucus. The giant convention center had a back loading dock where we could unload the books, so we drove up there and asked where we could park to unload lots of boxes of books. The bored looking man waved us into a spot and said we could park there. Karen and I looked at the very long ramp across the lot where we would have to enter the convention center and exchanged a look of dismay. That was a steep ramp and a long way with forty pound boxes of books!

True to my always-frantically-busy-and-not-quite-prepared state, I hadn’t been able to find an actual hand cart but I’d brought along my green and white striped beach chair on wheels that doubles as a transport cart. You know, for taking your cooler to the beach or whatever. If it can transport a cooler, I thought, why not a box of books? So Karen and I heaved a box out of the trunk and onto the beach chair. The canvas sagged but didn’t break, so we counted that as a win. Then we began the trek up the long steep ramp. After a few minutes of struggling, we finally got up and into the convention center, wheeled the books and the chair down the hall and found our vendor table. One box down, ten to go!

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Charity Auction: Misha’s Eye Mask

Charity Auction: Misha’s Eye Mask

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At the Salute to Supernatural Convention in Pittsburgh earlier this month, Misha Collins told us about his eye mask. He explained he received a toiletries set a few years ago, and it included an eye mask. He tucked that mask into his bag, and he wears it while traveling.

As he described it: “It looks like an oil rag that one would see at a gas station… so disgustingly filthy.”

A few minutes later, Richard and Rob brought said mask to Misha onstage.

Rob’s face really says it all…

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Eventually, Misha threw the mask into the crowd. Well, “throw” is a strong word. Think of it more like an attempt to throw the mask, much like he attempted to throw that paper airplane at Jared and Jensen a few years back. Suffice it to say, the mask did not go very far. In fact, it landed on the floor in front of the first row.

And most of the people in the first row actually just watched it fall to the floor, perhaps cringing a little in disgust.  An inspired  young woman in the first row did, however, reach down and pick it up. She laid it gently on her lap. And Misha’s panel continued. Afterwards, that young woman approached us, telling us she’d like to give it to charity, and asking if we could help. We talked about some options, and the plan began to take shape.

The young woman asked Misha to sign the mask during autos. At that time, she explained to him that she would be giving it to us to auction, with the proceeds to benefit Random Acts. At first, he was a bit surprised. “Why would anyone want this mask? It’s so nasty.” But despite his skepticism, he signed the mask and happily approved her choice to donate it for a charity auction. Hey, it’s for a good cause!

So without further ado…

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Charity Auction: Misha’s Eye Mask! See Misha in your dreams every time you close your eyes!

Okay, but seriously, all proceeds benefit Random Acts and their Hurricane Relief Effort.

Bonus!

Also included is a copy of Family Don’t End With Blood, which includes a chapter written by Misha! (And twelve other Supernatural actors, who all told their personal stories about how the show and the fandom have impacted them). Every copy of Family Don’t End With Blood also benefits Random Acts, and Attitudes in Reverse. Misha, Jared, Jensen and everyone who wrote chapters are proud of that — and of the powerful chapters they wrote too. (If you don’t win this auction, you can still purchase a copy of the book and make a contribution to Random Acts – links at the top of the page).

Here’s Misha in his Family Don’t End With Blood shirt inspiring you. How can you not be inspired by that face??

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This auction is worldwide, and we will pay for the shipping!

The auction runs for 10 days beginning September 26th, 2017.

Please support this auction, Random Acts, and the Hurricane Relief Effort.

Misha’s Eye Mask Auction

Thank you for your support!

Lynn & Kim

#SPNFamily

 

Supernatural’s Gil McKinney and Osric Chau – On Writing Books, Releasing New Music and New Seasons of Television!

Supernatural’s Gil McKinney and Osric Chau – On Writing Books, Releasing New Music and New Seasons of Television!

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It’s been a while since I had a chance to sit down and chat with Gil McKinney and Osric Chau, two of my favorite guest stars on Supernatural (as Henry Winchester and Kevin Tran) so I was happy to catch up with them at the Supernatural convention in Chicago this summer.

It’s been a busy year for Gil – he has a new baby, wrote a chapter in Family Don’t End With Blood, and just released his first EP (How Was I To Know), produced by fellow SPN Family member and talented singer, Jason Manns. After a wildly successful kickstarter, the EP was released this summer to rave reviews. Family Don’t End With Blood, was released this summer as well, and many fans have said that Gil’s chapter has inspired them.

It’s been a busy year for Osric as well, who also wrote an inspiring and personal chapter in Family Don’t End With Blood. And of course because he’s a regular on the smash hit Dirk Gently, on BBC America. As we sat down to chat in Chicago, filming was just beginning on Season 2, which starts airing next month, and Dirk Gently was about to conquer Comic Con in the gigantic Hall H!

Gil and Osric did a panel together at this convention, something they haven’t done in a while. I was there for their first joint panel, several years ago, when they haltingly started to get to know each other after being thrown together somewhat randomly, and I watched as they developed a genuine fondness and a lot of chemistry. It was a joy to see them onstage together again.

A fan asked about the book they both wrote chapters in.

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Behind the Scenes of Supernatural with Robbie Thompson

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One of the absolute highlights of this year’s Comic Con for me was sitting down to chat with Robbie Thompson, gifted comic writer and screenwriter who wrote some of my very favorite episodes of my very favorite show. That would be Supernatural, in case you didn’t know. Which is pretty much impossible unless you’ve just stumbled over this blog for the first time.

I attended Robbie’s panel on Intersectional Feminism in Comics, which was awesome and entirely inspiring, so we were all in a good mood afterwards. We decided to try to find a room where there weren’t a million people around, and took a bunch of friends with us – Laurena, Candice, Anne and Kamila – who were down with listening in to our epic interview. They will henceforth be referred to as the Peanut Gallery (‘PG’). For the most part, they were PG. The most part. Just sayin.

After several false starts traversing the ginormous convention center, including being barred from using the press room for our interview, we found an empty room with lots of empty round tables. Robbie, ever the intrepid one, shrugged and said, ‘how about this one?’

Occasionally a Comic Con staffer would come in, take a look at our oh-so-professional interview in progress, and quietly back out. Score!

I start the interview by tossing my handwritten notes about what I’m dying to ask and my little vintage audio recorder on the table.

R: (points to Lois Lane like tape recorder) Look at this, so professional..

L: Hey, it’s ancient, it’s done a million Supernatural interviews.

R: Uh oh, look at this, guys…(points to what appears to be a big stack of questions, a la Inside the Actor’s Studio)  There’s going to be some Bernard Pivot in there. There may be some things I say off the record…

L: Of course, you know I’m good with that. (but honestly? There weren’t many!)

R: Okay let’s do this!

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Family Don’t End With Blood at #SPNMinn!

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If you’re coming to the Supernatural con in Minneapolis tomorrow, come see me in the vendor’s room if you’d like to grab a copy of Family Don’t End With Blood. The book is unique for being written by the Supernatural actors themselves – Jared, Jensen, Misha, Mark, Kim, Briana, Ruth, Rachel, Rob, Matt, Jim, Gil and Osric all tell their very personal stories of how the fandom and the show have impacted their lives. In their own words. As Gil joked recently, they can now all add “author” to their bios! Most of the actors who wrote chapters will be at the con, and they are always thrilled to sign their chapters – it’s one item almost all of them love to sign since they’re (very justifiably) proud of their chapters. I’d be honored to sign it for you too at the vendor’s table – I’d love to meet you and hear your Supernatural story, to add to the powerful chapters in the book written by fans.

I’m extra excited about this con because the super talented Jodi from Eldwenne’s Fantasy has designed a special necklace inspired by the stories in Family Don’t End With Blood. This piece was commissioned to honor the powerful, courageous, inspiring chapters written by some of the women of Supernatural – Briana Buckmaster, Ruth Connell, Rachel Miner and Kim Rhodes. The blue is from the book’s iconic cover art of the Winchesters, with silver and black wrapped around to symbolize their supportive found family (including black for Baby, of course – she’s family!). And that drop of red? Just the beginning of what family means in Supernatural – and in the entire SPNFamily.

I love the little drop of blood and I love the whole wrap around family feel of the blue with the black and silver hugging it. I love that the necklace stands for the way the characters have each other’s backs, and also for the way the fandom and the cast support each other too. That’s the inspiring message you’ll take away from reading the book.

Jodi is offering $5.00 off at the con to anyone who buys a copy of the book that inspired the necklace, and I’m offering $2.00 off the book at the con if you happen to be wearing the necklace.

Here’s what Gil and Osric had to say about writing their chapters in Family Don’t End With Blood, and what Jared and Matt had to say about writing theirs.

Gil and Osric at Chicon

Jared and Matt JIBCon

Hope to see you tomorrow in Minneapolis or at an upcoming con!

–Lynn
Not coming to the con? You can grab a copy of
Family Don’t End With Blood at the links on this page.
And check out eldwennesfantasy.com for all the
gorgeous custom jewelry!

Shining A Spotlight on Misha Collins

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I was going to post my Vancon report this morning, but there’s something I want to talk about first. That something is Misha Collins. Partly because the events of the past week are so upsetting, which makes me long for a leader whose moral conviction and willingness to stand up for what he believes in can actually make change in this world that needs it so badly. Partly because I just finished my third Gishwhes, and watched Misha’s genuine and emotional reaction to the change we were all able to make together — I can’t think of ‘leader’ without thinking of Misha. Partly because Misha got some criticism for something he posted online, which I read as supportive but some read as the opposite – which can happen on the internet, no matter how good your intentions. Partly because I got some criticism too – which happens every time I try to share what’s happening at a con in live tweets, because LIVE tweets – but this time it struck me as so ironic, because I was sitting there thinking so much about Misha and the accusation was of ‘erasing’ him. (I had virtually no data service all day Saturday, so there were very few tweets that went through of those panels, including Misha’s, so that was probably part of the problem). But erasing?

That would be such a tragedy, it made me sick to my stomach. So I tried to think of something that could prevent it. All I have is my voice, but Misha has taught me my voice is important to use. So here goes.

The world would be a much less hopeful place without Misha Collins in it, and right now that is extremely important to me. I’m hanging onto hope wherever I can find it, and I’m unspeakably glad that one of the many wonderful things that SPN has brought me is my acquaintance with Misha Collins. He was the first of the cast to figure out how he could use his position and popularity for good, and he wasted no time doing so. Jared and Jensen have both given Misha credit for inspiring their own determination to make change through their charity campaigns. Together, the three of them – and just about all of their castmates – have done incredible work toward the kind of change we desperately need. The thing about Misha is, he’s not afraid to put himself out there, even when he’s standing out there initially alone. I admire that about him more than I can say, because that scares the hell out of me. Misha sees something that’s hurtful, and he immediately speaks up. And he doesn’t stop there – somehow he never got the discouraging message that most of us get, the ‘you’re one person, you can’t make a difference’ message that we let stop us far too often. Misha sees a problem and jumps in with both feet, uncaring of whether some people will disapprove. He doesn’t see impossible, no matter how unlikely the change that needs to happen – he sees possible. That kind of strength and courage is unusual, perhaps especially in the world of ‘celebrity’.

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Happy Birthday, Jared Padalecki!

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I have always admired Jared Padalecki. For the awesome acting, the depth and heart that he puts into his portrayal of Sam Winchester on that Show I’m so obsessed with, bringing the character to life so vividly. For the way he allows himself to be genuine and vulnerable in his interactions with others. For his desire to give back and make a difference in this world whether it’s with charity tee shirt campaigns or standing up at the Austin state house and fighting for laws that need to be passed. For the unique and heartwarming friendship he has with his onscreen brother and his loyalty to all his friends and his great love of family.

But I have never admired Jared as much as I do after working with him for the past few years as he wrote his chapter in Family Don’t End With Blood. I was blown away by his courage, his willingness to “go there” in what he wrote – to tell his own personal story without censoring it, in such powerful and compelling language that everyone who reads it knows exactly what he was feeling, exactly what happened, in every moment of that story. I witnessed firsthand his determination to “get it right” – even though I repeatedly told him I thought it was very nearly perfect already! And I witnessed firsthand just how much he cared about telling his story in a way that would be genuine and real. So that other people can see themselves reflected in someone we look up to, and understand that it’s not just words – you really are Not Alone.

I met so many people at the Chicago con this past weekend who told me how much Jared’s words meant to them – how much his writing inspired them, comforted them, validated them. How much it kept them going, let them always keep fighting. I’ve heard the same from so many people online, from all over the world where the book has traveled, who felt the same. I hope Jared knows how much of a difference he’s making with his words. I’ve told him, and I know some of you have told him too. I hope he believes it, and that on his birthday he can feel proud of all the things he’s accomplished.

Happy birthday, Jared.

–Lynn

If you’d like to read Jared’s story in Family Don’t

End With Blood, check it out at the link at the

top of the page. Have tissues ready.

 

Matt Cohen and Jared Padalecki on “Family Don’t End With Blood”

Matt Cohen and Jared Padalecki on “Family Don’t End With Blood”

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In May, several of the actors attended the Jus In Bello Convention in Italy, affectionately known as JIB. During his panel, Matt Cohen talked candidly about writing his chapter in my new book, “Family Don’t End With Blood.” Later that weekend, during his solo panel, Jared also spoke very openly and honestly about his experience writing his chapter in the book. They both put their heart and soul into their chapters, which is very clear when you read them. You might want to have tissues ready!

Kim Prior was kind enough to compile several videos from JIB, and put together a beautifully edited video featuring these moments from Matt and Jared.

Matt and Jared talk about FDEWB

This cast, seriously. How did we get so lucky?

If you haven’t read Matt and Jared’s (and Jensen’s and Misha’s and everyone else’s…), check it out!

-Lynn.