ELISE GERSEN

Elise Gersen's early life began when she was born into the foster system. She navigated multiple provinces throughout Canada, spending her formative years in group homes and juvenile institutions. As a young woman, she found herself entangled in a life of crime, surviving by aiding her partners. Her journey, though tumultuous, is a testament to her resilience.

Elise's latest endeavor involves her current partner, Trench, and his mother, Glennis. They've been tasked with a challenging mission-to abduct two families, those of Tony and Carl, the two main characters. But the two boys prove to be more cunning than expected, managing to outsmart the kidnappers and escape. Elise, always dressed in her signature red, purple, and pink tracksuit, is determined to see her plan through.

Name: Elise Eartha Geraldine Gersen

Nickname: Alice

Birthday: December 16th, 1970

Parents: UNKNOWN

Hometown: UNKNOWN

Height: 5'8 ft.

Weight: 180 lbs.

Eye Color: Green

Hair: Short, straight, purple

Favorite Color: Purple

Hobbies:

Anything to do with her boyfriend, Trench.

Ambition:

To be loved.

What are their strengths?

Elise's best (or worst) qualities are that she's quick and strong, attributes that she uses to her advantage in her criminal activities. Her agility and physical strength make her a formidable opponent.

What are their weaknesses?

Elise's most significant flaw and weakness is her temper, which often causes her to lose control. She is an outrageous villain with a heart of pure evil.

What do they want/need?

Elise's biggest fear is never finding true love, so she will destroy anyone who ruins her boyfriend's happiness, even if it's a group of children. She despises children.

What motivates them?

Elise's ultimate desire is to please her boyfriend and help him become rich so that they can run away together, away from his mother. Therefore, her love for her boyfriend and hatred for her mother-in-law motivate her.

What's their central conflict?

Elise's central conflict is with the children, who escape and bring attention to themselves by constantly foiling the villains' plans. Her secondary conflict is with her mother-in-law, Glennis. They argue because Glennis cannot pronounce her name correctly and calls her 'Alice.'

Do they achieve their goals?

Read "Minor Problem" this August and find out!

INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR:

What happened in the original story, and was Elise a part of it?

For starters, over twenty years ago, "Minor Problem" had a different title (a lame one), and Captain Hook was the villain. He kidnapped my parents and took them to Paris, and it was up to my friends and me to save them. I was inspired by "Spy Kids," but since I was only eight, there wasn't much detail or character development. Also, I am still determining how the kids managed to get a free plane to Paris without adult supervision. I was eight years old, and it was my very first story. I wasn't even writing short stories in school by that point.

What happened to you to take your first childhood story and turn it into a junior fiction novel?

As the years passed, I kept revisiting this story since it was the very first. In 2011 and 2013, I turned a child's silly story into a realistic yet entertaining one. As good as the movie "Spy Kids" is, I don't find it realistic. So, I wondered about a couple of children saving their kidnapped parents in a realistic setting. My cousin, Dillon (and inspiration for Carl), knew how much I loved writing and that I was occasionally working on all my stories. He also knew everything had yet to be finished because I felt discouraged. Writing was only a hobby and a pointless one. Nobody will ever read this, I would think to myself. I'm just wasting my time. So, Dillon told me in the fall of 2020 that what he wanted for Christmas was for me to finish my first story and e-mail it to him. I agreed, and I took his Christmas wish literally. My first story meant I would have to finish "Minor Problem."

So, what did you do first?

I gathered up all my notes and dove into the story, doing my best to work out all the details and describe the scenes that played in my head. I dream of making movies, and books will help me get my ideas out there. By writing my books, I'm attempting to show everyone the film that's only ever played in my brain.

So, how did you go about creating Elise?

I looked back on my and Dillon's childhoods and drew inspiration from our favorite villains in our favorite movies. Studying these classic villains' qualities and personalities would help me create my own. They were nasty, evil, and a little scary, but they still made Dillon and me laugh. That was my goal. I knew one of my villains had to be intimidating yet still funny. As I studied some of my favorite villainesses, I realized precisely what I needed.

And who might that be?

1) Madame Medusa – Disney's "The Rescuers."

2) Cruella DeVil – Disney's "101 Dalmatians."

3) Yzma – Disney's "The Emperor's New Groove."

4) Alice Ribbons - "Home Alone 3."

And what did studying these similar villains teach you?

As I studied some of my favorite villainesses, I knew exactly what I needed. I needed a character as hysterical as Medusa, evil as Cruella, irritable as Alice, and hilarious as Yzma. All four women had a temper and were cruel, but they still managed to bring the laughs, being scary and funny. That's what I needed, and as I pushed through with the writing, that's precisely what I got. Her name was inspired by all of the actresses and her birthday from their release dates.

The Rescuers – June 22nd, 1977

101 Dalmatians – January 25th, 1961

The Emperor's New Groove – December 10th, 2000

Home Alone 3 – December 12th, 1997

So the way my process works is two months were December, so she's a December baby. There's an homage to Alice and Yzma. Elise was born in 1970 since she's around 30, and the story takes place in 2001. Medusa hit the big screen in 1977, so Elise and Medusa share the 70's. But what about Cruella? I didn't want December 25th to be Elise's birthday; she's too wicked to be born on Christmas Day. So, I subtracted 22 from 25, and Elise's birthday is December 3rd, 1970. This is how my brain works. Weird, I know. And then, you just build their backstory however you want.

How did you figure out what Elise looked like?

I could easily picture Elise in my head, but I had no clue how to get her on paper; I couldn't draw to save my life. So, I decided to talk to Danielle, one of my coworkers from Staples. I knew she had the talent of being able to draw (unlike me). So, I asked her for help since she knew about the book. She decided to give it a shot, going by my descriptions. I was in love the very second that Danielle showed me her sketch of Elise. It was like she had somehow reached into my head and pulled her out. It's incredible when someone can produce a picture of a character you created in your mind. It makes the whole process of creating your own story so much more exciting.

Unfortunately, Danielle Decker was unavailable for comment.

After numerous requests for an audiobook, Joshua Emberley-Penney decided to try and his best to make it a reality for fans of his writing. After putting together an adult cast within twenty-four hours, Joshua asked longtime friend, Janice Budgell, to voice the role of Elise. He knew that Janice's sense of humor and outrageous voice talent would bring Elise to vocal life.

    "Oh my God, it sounds awesome, I love it!" Janice says. "I'm so excited."

Well, there you have it! You've met one of the villains. Return to the home page for blogs about the other two villains and the primary five children of the neighborhood.

KEEP AN EYE OUT 

FOR "MINOR PROBLEM"

Joshua Emberley-Penney's 1st Novel! 

Coming This Summer