Lynn Zubernis Interview

Lynn Zubernis Supernatural Interview

Family Don't End With Blood, There'll Be Peace When You Are Done

I am a huge Supernatural fan and have been watching the show since 2005. How did you first get into Supernatural and why?

A friend of mine got into it right at the start, and wanted to share it with the rest of us. Every time we'd have a 'fangirl weekend' at one of our houses, she would bring Supernatural - on VHS tapes! We all watched Season 1 like that, all together. I liked the show, but wasn't really a fan of it or in the fandom that first season. When Season 2 started, I began watching it live, mostly so I could be caught up to chat about it with my friend. Then, during one of the first episodes of Season 2, I was grading papers while I watched, and I suddenly realized I was so captivated by it that I'd stopped grading, the papers had slid to the floor, my grading pen was hanging in the air. I thought, why did I not realize this is the most amazing show ever? That was it. I was hooked. I've never looked back.

I know you go to lots of conventions throughout the USA. I have seen you in lots of Alana King's videos on Youtube. Who have been your favourite cast members to meet?

What amazes me is that pretty much every cast member I've met has been so wonderful! I've worked with so many of them putting together Family Don't End With Blood and There'll Be Peace When You Are Done, and they have all been such a pleasure to work with. I'm in awe of how personal they got in their chapters in FDEWB, especially Jared Padalecki, Rob Benedict and Kim Rhodes. Those three chapters are amazing, so powerful and so personal. Everyone wrote their hearts out, though.

In terms of meeting them for the first time, I didn't meet Jared, Jensen or Misha for the first time at a Supernatural convention. Meeting Jensen for the first time way back in 2007 at Comic Con was nervewracking for me since Dean Winchester is my favorite fictional character EVER, but he has been unfailingly nice from that very first meeting, even when I was a total stranger. I met Jared for the first time that year too, in the candy line at a community theater in Texas, where we were both there to see Jensen in 'A Few Good Men', so that was much less nervewracking. I was blown away by how sweet he was. I met Misha for the first time in Vancouver, after he'd only done a few episodes of the show, for an interview at a local bar/restaurant.  I was struck by a) how smart he was and b) how open he was. That was a memorable conversation - we ended up talking for so long that Misha missed his next appointment!

Meeting Chad Lindberg (Ash) also comes to mind. It was memorable because the second time we met up, it was in New Orleans at an academic conference. We had become friends with the filmmakers who made 'My Big Break', starring Chad, and they all came to the conference to screen the film. Then we all hit Bourbon Street. It was Chad's first time there, and we had a wild time introducing him to the fun of it! But honestly, I love them all. They are an incredibly talented and creative bunch but they are also just plain good people.

I love your book 'Family Don't End With Blood', but unfortunately haven't yet read 'There'll Be Peace When You Are Done' as it is not out in the UK yet. How do you compile all of the different stories for these books and how long did it take to make each book?

FDEWB was easier and less stressful to put together, partly because we didn't have a strict timetable. I could let everyone write at their own pace, both actors and fans. Jared took two years to write his chapter, because he took it so seriously and worked so hard on what he wanted to say. Everyone did. And the actors who wrote for that book were mostly the people I knew the best from the conventions, so it was easy just to check in with them about how it was going since we saw each other frequently. There were some times when they saw me at a con and were like "Oh no so sorry, Lynn, I'm almost done my edits, honest!" before I could even say hello.  I felt like their professor or something!

For There'll Be Peace When You Are Done, we had an impossible timeline (a matter of months) to put the book together so it would come out in May when the show was scheduled to end. The book went to print before the show stopped filming, in fact. That meant that some people who wanted to write chapters just could not do it. Jared, Jensen and Misha were incredibly busy filming the show and dealing with its upcoming loss emotionally, so they couldn't sit down and write something like Jared did for FDEWB (for two years). That's why Jared and Jensen's chapters include some of the emotional things they had previously said about the show ending at public events, all in their own words, along with some new thoughts about Sam and Dean's legacy - so the chapters would be inspiring enough to really help fans through a tough time. Misha's contribution is short but heartfelt - and hopeful. There are a few people who didn't get to contribute anything and that was difficult, but the time frame was next to impossible.

I was lucky that the same publisher who did FDEWB (BenBella Books) took a chance on There'll Be Peace When You Are Done. They were on board for one of the most important things - donating a portion of proceeds from both books to charities born from the show and the fandom. For the new book, those charities are Random Acts (Misha Collins' global nonprofit) and SPNSurvivors (a nonprofit started by a Supernatural fan that focuses on suicide prevention). We wanted this book to help people, in multiple ways.

Apart from Supernatural what other films and TV shows do you like?

I don't have time to watch much else - I did love The Magicians, which also recently wrapped, and I like Eric Kripke's new show, The Boys. Schitt's Creek was a happy place recently as I belatedly discovered that show. And in the past I've loved shows like Buffy, Angel, X Files, Star Trek(s). I've never been in a fandom other than for Supernatural though, which has made it a very different experience.  Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan is a friend, so I'm partial to most of his films but have loved other genre films too.

Who have been the most memorable people (not cast members) you have met at conventions?

You mentioned Alana King - I didn't meet Alana at a convention, but that's where our friendship solidified and where we've had all kinds of adventures together. I did meet my friend Kim at a convention; she started taking photos for my website at cons and then we became good friends. She contributed tons of gorgeous photos for FDEWB and coordinated all the photos for the new book, and we've also shared adventures all over the US.  I also met my friend Laurena at a convention, in a very odd way. At one of the earlier Chicago Supernatural conventions, there was a hurricane as the con ended, and I got stranded in Chicago without a hotel room. I finally found one that turned out to be in a VERY bad area (think bullet proof glass everywhere and so dangerous that the pizza delivery guy refused to come inside the motel!)  Terrified, I put out a tweet asking if anyone in the area could help me out, and Laurena answered! We had met at the con, and she drove over and picked me up and rescued me - and the rest is friendship history!  I also met some people who I'm still friends with to this day at my very first convention in 2007 in Vancouver. There were no actors there, just fans, but it was my first time meeting others who shared my love of the show, and we've stayed in touch for the past 13 years. And lastly, a big shout out to my fellow vendors, who are like a big extended Supernatural family at this point. I miss all of them!

Do you have any future writing plans at the moment? Do you have any more Supernatural books planned?

Every time I finish a book, I swear I'll never do another one, because it's so much work and so stressful. But then inevitably I get inspired and go back on my promise. No absolute plans now, but we'll see. Ask me in another six months!

Would you ever attend conventions in other countries (not the USA or Canada)?

Absolutely! I went to the Rome convention Jus in Bello once and had an absolutely amazing time. I also went to one of the first Rising Cons in Spain and again had an incredible time. I would love to do tons of other cons, but unfortunately the airfare is often prohibitive. That's actually one the book ideas floating around my head - this show has a truly international fandom, and it would be interesting to have contributors from all over the world talk about their experience of the show and the fandom. The fans I met in Rome were from all over the world, and it was so much fun to share something in common while also relishing our cultural differences and how that impacts our fandom experience.

If you could play any Supernatural character who would you want to play and why?

Rowena is what popped into my head, but I think that's just because I really love that character. And because she's not entirely dead. But really I'm not cut out for the hunting life, so I'd probably be best as someone like Donna's ex "new Doug" (played by Brendan Taylor, who I adore). He got a taste of what it was really like to be a hunter and was like, nope. That would probably be me!

How has life changed for you since Supernatural started?

The most wonderful friends have come into my life because of this show. I've travelled to so many places and had so many adventures (and misadventures) that I would never have experienced if it were not for Supernatural. I doubt I would have had the courage to start writing and publishing books (other than the academic ones I need to publish for my career as a professor and psychologist). The show has changed both my personal life and my professional life, and enriched both, and I'm very very grateful.

Do you have any words for all Supernatural fans who are sad, like me, that the show is ending?

I think we're all sad, and that's okay. When you love something, and something is important to you, it hurts to lose it. For many of us, Supernatural is one of the good things in our lives that keeps us going through the bad times. Its characters are familiar, inspiring - and beloved. We will miss them. The fandom community is equally important, a global group of like-minded people with whom we share thoughts and feelings and adventures, whether in person or online. Don't let anyone tell you that this is not a loss and that it is not worthy of grief. It is. The reason we put together There'll Be Peace When You Are Done is to provide comfort and inspiration in the face of that grief (and all the other losses we're unexpectedly facing in this pandemic).  We want the book to be something you can hang onto, and go back to. Something that will remind us all of just how special this little show has been and always will be, and what its legacy will be going forward. I asked everyone who contributed a chapter, both actors and fans, to talk about what they thought the legacy of this show and these characters will be, so the book is full of hope. It's a celebration of all that Supernatural has been and will continue to be. Because all the things it has given us? That will never end.