Celebrate Supernatural Season 9 with Our New Book, "Fangasm: Supernatural Fangirls!"
That's Jared doing his impression of a 'Fangasm' for us. Not too shabby, right?
We're so excited about Season 9, we had to spread the squee all over the place -- especially on LJ, since so much of our new book, Fangasm: Supernatural Fangirls, 'takes place' here. If you're a fan -- of SPN or anything -- we think you'll recognize yourself in Fangasm. At the very least, you'll laugh at our misadventures as we fall in love with Supernatural, discover the wonders of online fandom, and then hit the road (and the books) to figure out what the heck is going on with us! Here's the book description --
"Once upon a time not long ago, two responsible college professors, Lynn the psychologist and Kathy the literary scholar, fell in love with the television show Supernatural and turned their oh-so-practical lives upside down. Plunging headlong into the hidden realms of fandom, they scoured the internet for pictures of stars Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki and secretly penned racy fan fiction. And then they hit the road -- crisscrossing the country, racking up frequent flyer miles with alarming ease, standing in convention lines at 4 A.M. They had white-knuckled encounters with overly zealous security guards one year and smiling invitations to the Supernatural set the next. Actors stripping in their trailers, fangirls sneaking onto film sets; drunken confessions, squeals of joy, tears of despair; wallets emptied and responsibilities left behind; intrigue and ecstasy and crushing disappointment -- it’s all here.
And yet even as they reveled in their fandom, the authors were asking themselves whether it’s okay to be a fan, especially for grown women with careers and kids. “Crazystalkerchicks” -- that’s what they heard from crew members, security guards, airport immigration officials, even sometimes their fellow fans. But what Kathy and Lynn found was that most fans were very much like themselves: smart, capable women looking for something of their own that engages their brains and their libidos.
Fangasm pulls back the curtain, revealing Supernatural behind the scenes and discovering just how much the cast and crew know about what the fans are up to. Anyone who’s been tempted to throw off the constraints of respectability and indulge a secret passion-or hit the road with a best friend-will want to come along."
We hope you'll do just that -- come along with us on our wild and sometimes crazy roadtrip through fandom! There are lots of interviews with Jared, Jensen, Misha, Jim, Richard, Kripke, Gamble, etc etc, some pretty pictures, and plenty of opportunities for you to laugh. But we hope you'll also hear the message underneath the humor, because it turned out that fandom changed us. For the better. We figured out who we were, and who we wanted to be, through fandom. We met our closest friends and discovered the true meaning of community. We found a place to be real, and a way to be real without shame. We hope you've found that here too.
Here's what missyjack, the awesome admin of the SuperWiki, had to say about Fangasm:
“Take a trip on the rollercoaster ride that is the Supernatural fandom as Kathy and Lynn combine their own fannish passion with astute academic insights into what it is to be a fan. Combining an emotionally honest account of their own experiences with interviews with the cast and showrunners on fandom, it's a book no fan should miss.”-Jules Wilkinson, administrator of the SuperWiki
Mo Ryan's review:
“Being a fan isn’t hard. Getting inside a fandom, exploring every nook and cranny of a show, doing smart interviews with the top talent, keeping your perspective AND your sense of humor? Now that is really freakin’ hard. Kathy and Lynn are the best possible guides anyone could have through the many worlds of Supernatural fandom. As writers, tour guides, and companions, they kick it in the ass in every possible way. This is a terrific and engaging read.”-Maureen Ryan, television critic, Huffington Post
Tony Zierra and Elizabeth Yoffe, Director and Producer of indie film "My Big Break":
“Fangasm takes you on a wild and brave journey into the deep realm of fandom. It's a no-holds-barred true tale of community, passion, and creativity, where the fans are the real stars of the story. An honest, insightful, and often surprising exploration into the world of fandom, Fangasm breaks down barriers and reminds us just how vital fans are to the success of any creative work. It resonates with the fangirl or fanboy in all of us.”-Tony Zierra, director, and Elizabeth Yoffe, producer, My Big Break
Fangasm is available on amazon here:
Fangasm: Supernatural Fangirls
And our academic book that explores fandom (and the most wonderful fandom in the world -- yes, that would be Supernatural) is also available on amazon here:
Fandom At The Crossroads
For more of our interviews with Supernatural cast and crew and convention reports, our Fangasm blog is here:
Fangasm Blog
And follow us on Twitter @FangasmSPN --
Happy reading! Here's to Season 9!!