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
Is there a message
in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Friendship,
adventure, and loss are a few of the messages that readers love in this book. What
family means is a strong message, as is the idea that sometimes you don’t know what
you need until you have it.
With that said,
there is a “stranger in a strange land” message that I love.
Also, this entire
book is probably an homage to how much I love ketchup.
Is there
anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Finding a
deeply satisfying and unique ending. How you end a book says everything. The
last words that represent all the pages that came before.
How many
books have you written and which is your favorite?
I wrote
five of what I like to call “starter novels”. Novels that I learned a lot from.
Since that time, I’ve written three published novels and have three more coming
out next year. My favorite is always the next one.
If you had the
chance to cast your main character from Hollywood today, who would you pick and why?
I
think Gobbledy would want to play himself and would spend A LOT of time hanging
around the craft services table.
When did
you begin writing?
Around
five years old I decided I wanted to be the one to put the words in books. That
was how I phrased it. I really started writing stories down when I was eight. That evolved into me wanting
to be a songwriter. I wanted to write old ballads like Patsy Cline and George
Strait. I was a weird kid. Then I discovered punk rock and Henry Rollins, and
took a sharp turn out of song writing into the much bigger world of writing
short stories, plays, screenplays, and books. People always think it’s strange
that I can move so fluidly between country music and punk but honestly, it just
makes sense to me. Loretta Lynn is way more punk rock than people give her
credit for. Writing takes a lot of different forms, from songwriting to poetry
to novel writing. I’ve been doing some form of writing since I was five years
old. I left a full-time sales job that took up most of my day when I moved to
Madison, Wisconsin. There, I worked only two days a week. Suddenly I had five days
a week to write. My aspirations of “I want to become a writer” suddenly
intersected with “Now I can”. I spent those years really learning the
craft of writing, building up a body of work, and learning how I work,
what my process is for creating. I was already an award-winning writer by then,
so it’s interesting that it wasn’t until after my deep commitment to learning
and practicing my craft that I considered myself a writer.
How long
did it take to complete your first book?
If you mean
my first book that was published, it took six weeks. Tupelo Honey was created
from all the cuts made to another novel that had been optioned as a film.
Did you
have an author who inspired you to become a writer?
I started
out in theater and film, so my early influences were Tennessee Williams, Shakespeare,
and Euripides. John August is an amazing screenwriter.
Milan
Kundera and Raymond Carver were the writers that lured me into novels and short
stories.
What is your
favorite part of the writing process?
Never
knowing what the next part will be, whether it’s a scene or chapter or book.
Describe
your latest book in 4 words.
A
delightful holiday adventure.
Can you
share a little bit about your current work or what is in the future for your
writing?
I have a
lot of new titles coming out.
Three amazing
new titles next year.
Follow me
on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com./Lis-Anna-Langston/e/B00IXKUOEQ/
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a notification when new titles come available for pre-sale.
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.
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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