HENBERT TRENCHBURN, JR.
Welcome to the character bio for the main villain of "Minor Problem"!
If you still need to check out some previous bios, the links are below.
Tony Gregory (The 10-year-old main character who longs to be a spy):
Carl Gregory (Tony's cousin and next-door neighbor):
Desiree Blake (Tony's best friend):
Darrell' Will' Williams (Tony & Carl's neighbor; Carl's cousin):
Anna Lewis (The mayor's daughter):
Elise Gersen (The leader's temperamental girlfriend):
Glennis MacLolson (The leader's outrageous mother):
And here is the leader himself!
Henbert, Jr. prefers to be called 'Trench' because he hates his name, mainly because it reminds him of his father. He has no idea where he was born because his parents were always on the run. His mother doesn't even remember. He currently lives in the town of Baytona in the province of Newfoundland. He is bulky, strong, and usually dressed all in black with a hoodie.
He was raised by his con artist parents, and they constantly moved from place to place throughout the United States. When Trench's father abandoned him and Glennis, the two of them moved to Canada, hitting province to province as they abused the system. This gave Trench an unhealthy obsession with money, like his mother.
He was raised by his con artist parents, and they constantly moved from place to place throughout the United States. When Trench's father abandoned him and Glennis, the two of them moved to Canada, hitting province to province as they abused the system. This gave Trench an unhealthy obsession with money, like his mother.
While living in Ontario, Trench met his girlfriend, Elise Gerson, when they were twenty-eight. It was love at first sight as two evil souls bond over their love for money and crime. But his mother cannot stand his girlfriend, and their bickering banter constantly annoys him.
When Trench is thirty-one, he moves to Baytona, Newfoundland, with his girlfriend and mother in tow. He's usually dressed in black to avoid being seen at night, while during the day, he wears clothes he steals from clotheslines and laundromats. That summer, Trench discovers the opportunity to make $ 10,000 while just having to scare two families into staying quiet. Unfortunately, the parents of both families were easy to intimidate and kidnap, and their children were also scared. Still, fortunately, it was not easy to kidnap. Outwitting the devious trio, the two boys escape and must figure out how to save their parents.
When Trench is thirty-one, he moves to Baytona, Newfoundland, with his girlfriend and mother in tow. He's usually dressed in black to avoid being seen at night, while during the day, he wears clothes he steals from clotheslines and laundromats. That summer, Trench discovers the opportunity to make $ 10,000 while just having to scare two families into staying quiet. Unfortunately, the parents of both families were easy to intimidate and kidnap, and their children were also scared. Still, fortunately, it was not easy to kidnap. Outwitting the devious trio, the two boys escape and must figure out how to save their parents.
Nickname: Trench, Junior
Birthday: January 1st, 1970 (31 Years Old)
Parents: Henbert Trenchburn & Glennis MacLolson
Hometown: Anywhere
Height: 6 ft.
Weight: 200 lbs.
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Black
Hair Style: Long, straight, greasy
Favorite Color: Black
Hobbies:
Anything involving lots of money, usually crime-related.
Life's Ambition:
To be rich.
What are their strengths?
Trench's strength is his literal physical strength.
Trench's strength is his literal physical strength.
What are their weaknesses?
Trench's weakness is that he's so greedy, cocky, and evil. He takes his girlfriend for granted and is easily annoyed by his overbearing mother.
Trench's weakness is that he's so greedy, cocky, and evil. He takes his girlfriend for granted and is easily annoyed by his overbearing mother.
What do they want/need?
Trench's biggest fear is being captured by the police and being thrown in jail forever and having to share a cell with his father. Trench absolutely despises his father which is why he refuses to be called Henbert and is disgusted by the sound of it. Trench's primary goal is to find the boys and kidnap them and then do whatever to get paid.
Trench's biggest fear is being captured by the police and being thrown in jail forever and having to share a cell with his father. Trench absolutely despises his father which is why he refuses to be called Henbert and is disgusted by the sound of it. Trench's primary goal is to find the boys and kidnap them and then do whatever to get paid.
What motivates them?
Trench's motivation is his greed. He wants to get rich by abusing the system by whatever means necessary, even if it means hurting two little boys. Therefore, his central conflict is with Anthony and Carl, as they stand directly on his path to his payday.
Trench's motivation is his greed. He wants to get rich by abusing the system by whatever means necessary, even if it means hurting two little boys. Therefore, his central conflict is with Anthony and Carl, as they stand directly on his path to his payday.
What is their central conflict?
Trench's main conflict is with the kids, Tony, Carl, and their friends as the kids keep foiling their plans, trying to save their parents, and standing directly in the pathway to his payday.
Trench's main conflict is with the kids, Tony, Carl, and their friends as the kids keep foiling their plans, trying to save their parents, and standing directly in the pathway to his payday.
Do they achieve their goals?
Read "Minor Problem" this August and find out!
Read "Minor Problem" this August and find out!
INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR
Tell us again, how did this story become a novel, and why did it take so long?
I started working on the story when I was eight in the summer of 2001 while my family and I lived in Baytona, hence the story's setting. I still remember writing this exciting adventure about my cousin and me saving our kidnapped parents; we were big "Spy Kids" fans. Since I was only eight in the summer of 2001, I didn't change any names of my friends or family. But I did write the story from beginning to end, however lame it might've been. And it was soon that my second movie idea came to me. And then, the next, and so on...
Two years later, my desk drawer was filled with more chapters and notes for unfinished stories as I abandoned one idea after the other. I would get inspired by a new project and start working on it without completing what I was already working on. At this point, my mind had given birth to five stories and movies that played perfectly in my head. My bedroom would become a mess of clothes, homework, and numerous writing pages. Eventually, my parents had no choice but to gut out my room, and lots of writing was thrown out. Thankfully, after we got a computer, there was less mess, and the most crucial points of any story of mine were already engraved in my brain.
Ten years later, in the summer of 2013, I re-visited my very first story. I decided to re-write it as a realistic story instead of just some imagined adventure from when I was eight. I changed the horrible title; it was obvious a child had named it, and I used a play on words. I used to hear people say "minor problem" instead of "you're welcome" when somebody thanked them. The main characters are minors, and they have a problem; their kidnapped parents. Minor Problem. After that, I actually began working on character development. The original story had me, my cousin, Dillon, our parents, friends Meghan, Paul, and Jenelle, and a nameless villain. If I was going to make this childish notion a story capable of reading, I also needed fictional characters. This is where Tony and Carl were created, replacing Dillon and me. And this is also where Trench was created.
When I began writing stories, my cousin Dillon knew about it. He even knew about this story as we hung out writing stories together in his clubhouse. Dillon also knew that I was still passionate about my stories as an adult but felt it was a childish waste of time. Therefore, I didn't finish anything. So, being a clever man and knowing I would give him whatever he wanted for Christmas, Dillon asked for my first book. He wanted me to finish a story and email it to him. He didn't care which story; he just wanted a story completely finished, start to finish. I only needed to think about which story to write briefly. If I was going to write a book from beginning to end, it should be my first idea. A few months into working on it, my coworkers discovered what I was doing. They became very supportive, encouraging me to publish it. So then, after more support and encouragement from friends and family, here we are.
How did you create Trench?
Originally, Trench's name was Trunch, which is short for Trunchburn, because I was inspired by Miss Trunchbull from "Matilda." She was twisted and evil, with pure hatred for children. But she was so dramatic and outrageous that she was still funny. Dillon and I cracked up at her sometimes, "Matilda" being one of the movies we would watch together. And the Trunchbull was why. So, for the main villain of my novel, I needed to create somebody totally evil, just like her. So, my main villain's name was Trunch for the past eight years.
Originally, Trench's name was Trunch, which is short for Trunchburn, because I was inspired by Miss Trunchbull from "Matilda." She was twisted and evil, with pure hatred for children. But she was so dramatic and outrageous that she was still funny. Dillon and I cracked up at her sometimes, "Matilda" being one of the movies we would watch together. And the Trunchbull was why. So, for the main villain of my novel, I needed to create somebody totally evil, just like her. So, my main villain's name was Trunch for the past eight years.
But after giving it some thought, I decided to change his name to Trench because everyone would recognize Trunch as Trunchbull (if they know "Matilda"). So now, I have to get used to the name change. I still find myself slipping up when talking to my friends or editors. It's like a real person in your life has suddenly changed their name; it's hard to get out of the habit.
And then, his last name also led me to another villain. Glennis' surname was MacLeachman, but why did that sound so familiar? Then, it hit me. McLeach, the villain from Disney's "The Rescuers Down Under." He was a tough old man, scary, challenging, and cruel towards children. That's when I knew Trunch had the perfect last name. HA! You see that? Prime example. That's when I knew TRENCH had the perfect last name.
Although Miss Trunchbull inspired Trench's personality, I didn't want to picture the actress Pam Ferris playing Trench. But somebody else stuck out in my mind, and he wasn't even from a children's movie. I knew what Trench acted like, but what did he look like?
And Billy Loomis from "Scream" jumped out of my memory. "Scream" is my favorite horror movie. Although I didn't see the film until I was a teenager, I knew about it since I was eight. That was another movie that inspired a lot of my and Dillon's childhood games. We would chase each other around the yard, taking turns wearing his Ghostface mask and wielding a plastic knife as the other screamed his head off, running for his life. We longed to grow up and finally be old enough to experience the absolute terror.
As for his birthday, I looked at the release dates of the inspiration, like I did with the other characters. 1) Matilda – August 2nd, 1996
2) Scream – December 20th, 1996
Only two movies with this character, so I'll pick the day from one and the month from the other. After realizing that August and December seem familiar with my characters, I looked at Elise's profile. Her birthday was December 3rd, 1970. Perfect. Matilda came out on the 2nd, and Scream came out in December. His birthday is literally the day before Elise's. It can be one of the unique things they share in their twisted relationship. It's weird how these things work out sometimes.
As for his birthday, I looked at the release dates of the inspiration, like I did with the other characters. 1) Matilda – August 2nd, 1996
2) Scream – December 20th, 1996
Only two movies with this character, so I'll pick the day from one and the month from the other. After realizing that August and December seem familiar with my characters, I looked at Elise's profile. Her birthday was December 3rd, 1970. Perfect. Matilda came out on the 2nd, and Scream came out in December. His birthday is literally the day before Elise's. It can be one of the unique things they share in their twisted relationship. It's weird how these things work out sometimes.
And how did you create his design?
My friend, Danielle Decker, was busy designing Elise and Glennis. So my cousin, Matt Emberley, offered to create Trench, already having designed Tony and Carl. And he did an excellent job. I'm so thankful for his patience and talent. We both discussed ideas and visions, and eventually, he created Trench's face.
Unfortunately, Matthew Emberley was unavailable for comment today.
After numerous requests for an audiobook, Joshua Emberley-Penney decided to try 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 Travis Marsh to bring Trench to life. As soon as Travis sent a clip of his deep, dark, and potentially terrifying voice, Joshua knew he was Trench.
"YESSS. That's awesome, I'm excited!" Travis said upon landing the role.
Well, folks, you've officially seen the two heroes, their three best friends, and the three villains. Tune in next week on "Teaser Thursday" to meet more characters! In the meantime, feel free to like and share this post to tell people about Joshua Emberley-Penney's first book, coming out this month!
.jpeg)
KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR
"MINOR PROBLEM"
Joshua Emberley-Penney's 1st Novel
COMING THIS AUGUST
Comments
Post a Comment