Holiday/Middle Grade
Date Published: 10-24-2020
Publisher: Spark Press
Ever since eleven-year-old Dexter Duckworth and his brother, Dougal, lost their mom, everything has been different. But “different” takes on a whole new meaning when, one day just before Christmas (or Kissmas, as they call it), Dexter finds a golden rock in the forest that hatches into an adorable alien. Gobbledy is smarter than he seems and is lost on planet Earth. Before long, Gobbledy takes Dexter, Dougal, and their best friend Fi on an adventure of friendship, family, and loss―one that requires them all to stay out of trouble, protect Gobbledy from a shadowy group called the Planetary Society, and prepare for their school’s Winter Extravaganza Play, where Dexter has to be a dreaded Gingerbread Man.
Gobbledy is a fun-filled holiday story that adds up to two brothers, three friends, unlimited jars of peanut butter, a ketchup factory, and one little alien far, far from home.
2021 Independent Press Awards Winner in Holiday
2021 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards Silver Medal Winner
2021 Book Excellence Awards Finalist in Holiday
2020 New York City Big Book Awards Winner in Holiday
2020 Wishing Shelf Book Awards Gold Medal Winner
2021 15th Annual National Indie Excellence® Awards Finalist
“Hugely entertaining as well as emotionally moving.”
―Kirkus Reviews
“This charming alien-in-the-attic story boasts engaging characters, witty storytelling, and a furry little beast that will eat anything, all wrapped up in a warm holiday package.”
―Booklife
“A delightfully entertaining novel by an author with a genuine flair for originality and the kind of narrative storytelling style that will fully engage the imaginative attention of appreciative young readers ages 8-11, Gobbledy by Lis Anna-Langston . . . will prove to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to elementary school, middle school, and community library collections.”
―Midwest Book Review
“In Gobbledy, Lis Anna-Langston offers her readers a sparkling novel of discovery, adventure, and the abiding consolation of friendship . . . Eleven-year-old protagonist Dexter’s progress from bumbling troublemaker to triumphant (but still bumbling) hero is sweet, utterly convincing, and thoroughly engaging. This novel’s generous heart won me over from the get-go.”
―John Gregory Brown, acclaimed author of A Thousand Miles from Nowhere
Interview with Lis Anna-Langston
For those interested in exploring the subject or theme of your book, where should they start?
I think there is a strong stranger in a strange land theme in GOBBLEDY, so a shift in perspective that allows you to see our world through alien eyes is a fun place to start.
How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?
My family never celebrated holidays together, so a week before Christmas one year I got in my Honda and drove from Asheville to Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas. My dog and I stopped at roadside motels and drive thru coffee places. I jotted poems and stories on paper bags with stray fries hanging out in the bottom.
I plowed on across Texas, convinced somewhere in the world, meaning and miracles intersected. Charmed by the desert, that massive, waterless expanse of shrub and sand lit up my imagination. The further I drove, the more I started to form an idea for a story. Like, a real holiday story. A story about a little boy who finds something in the forest. It was right there. Pieces of a story, floating around inside the car. I swept through El Paso, passed the border, and drove out to Deming, White Sands, to where Billy the Kid was jailed. I started to get the feeling that I was closer to Christmas than I’d ever been.
I bought a telescope and took it out into the desert. It wasn’t sophisticated, but it was portable. From a dirt road in the middle of New Mexico, I could see the moons of Jupiter. Seeing those moons locked in the pull of a planet so far away created a shift in me. A shift that pushed me closer to a magic I’d never been able to define. Not hocus-pocus magic. Real magic. The kind that exists when flowers turn to face the sun. Beyond science and stars and moons, out into the subatomic world of sheer possibility. I could feel it; like it was just around the corner, watching me.
I put my dog in the car and headed out towards Tucson. It was beautiful, but not my destination. I headed north, towards Flagstaff.
The first time I saw the Grand Canyon was at 3AM, under the light of a full moon. It had just snowed. The streets were clear, but a white blanket covered the ground. Enormous elk stood under the moonlight, so huge their bellies came up to the top of my car. Coyotes roamed the wide-open spaces. The world was aglow and alive in that strange canyon. Cold and clear and perfect. I drove to a hotel and prayed they had a vacancy. While my dog sat in a chair staring out at that new world, I sat awake in bed and wrote down the beginning of this story, shaped by my winter in the desert.
What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
To create a story inspired by moons of Jupiter, life in other star systems, strange findings in the forest. I feel like I definitely achieved the work I set out to explore.
Anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?
YOU are ALL THE REASON that this job is so much fun!!!!
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
The friendship that emerges between Gobbledy and Fi totally charmed me.
Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the future?
Maya Loop is my new release, and you can find her here: https://www.amazon.com./Maya-Loop-Lis-Anna-Langston-ebook/dp/B0985C3D29/
I have a lot of new titles coming out.
Three amazing new titles next year.
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I am currently writing a new middle grade title and a new adult title.
I launch new Vella titles often &
I regularly publish in literary magazines and journals.
How long have you been writing?
It depends on what you mean. I entered a Creative and Performing Arts school when I was eleven, so I started writing before then. I was hired as a Staff Writer for a production company when I was nineteen, won my first film festival four years later and got really serious about writing a few years after that when I moved to Madison, WI and could suddenly write full time.
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in GOBBLEDY?
The Duckworth family is facing their first Christmas without their mom, and it was her favorite holiday. Dad works overtime at the ketchup factory, worried about layoffs. Dexter is always getting into trouble. Fi is his best friend who lives next door. His little brother Dougal brings a hilarious insight. Then there is Gobbledy, the little alien far, far from home.
If you could spend the day with one of the characters from GOBBLEDY who would it be? Please tell us why you chose this particular character, where you would go and what you would do.
Gobbledy. My otherworldly friend.
We’d go to an all you can eat buffet. ; )
About the Author
Lis Anna-Langston was raised alongside the winding current of the Mississippi River on a steady diet of dog-eared books. She attended a creative and performing arts school from middle school until graduation and went on to study literature at Webster University. She is a Parents’ Choice Gold and a Moonbeam Children’s Book Award Winner. She draws badly and sings loudly, and loves ketchup, starry skies, and stories with happy endings aliens.
You can find her in the wilds of South Carolina plucking stories out of thin air. Find more fab facts at www.lisannalangston.com.
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