Thanks for the tags, @ivanskilling and @uglygirlnextdoor!
Joel Farber is a book-keeper who loves reading about history (especially antiquity) and self-improvement. He has long struggled with self-esteem, since his mother (as well as many of his peers) was verbally and emotionally abusive towards him growing up. He also has to deal with the remnants of a childhood stutter.
As a child, he was painfully shy and had trouble making friends. Disliking how he was always pushed around, he pushed himself to become extremely outgoing and argumentative during his teen years, hoping this would make up for his years of "silence." However, this isn't his real self either - so in university, he becomes more subtle and quiet, but retains his penchant for political debate.
"The Book of Joel" starts when Joel is 24. Now more confident and emotionally open than ever, Joel is now well on his way to asserting his independence from his parents.
Through his relationship with Malka, an intelligent, kind, and extremely perceptive young woman, Joel has finally learned to embrace aspects of his personality that he had tried to suppress before (in particular, his amorous and loving personality, since he was worried that these aspects made him weak).
TL;DR:
Personality: Extroverted/ambivert (on the surface), introverted (when he is alone or with his loved ones), anxious, intellectual, over-thinker, sensitive
Themes he has to deal with in his story: growing up, asserting his independence from his parents, discovering what he wants in his career as well as in his relationship, allowing himself to love and be loved
Joel is the protagonist of "The Book of Joel," which is coming out at 50,000 ink and is also a side character in my main series, "Sam in New York" (he is the protagonist Sam's friend and will be introduced officially later this month in "Sam in New York").
"The Book of Joel"'s cover and Teaser Prologue can be read here: https://tapas.io/series/The-Book-of-Joel/info
Tagging: @Legendofgenii @RobRoveleh @RyzaCobalion