~ Meet The Author ~

Personality: Friendly & generous like my mom, but with my dad’s sarcasm & blunt humour. I’m clumsy, not tech savvy, and a bit OCD with certain things. I range from very sensible to very goofy, and I’m an upbeat kid at heart. While I do like socializing and can get along with almost anyone, I prefer solitude and avoiding drama. I am NOT easily offended.

More Facts:

• I put stickers on anything and everything

• I cannot leave the house without some kind of hair accessory, either a flower / bow clip or a headband

• Clothing and jewelry that is asymmetrical, wacky, one-of-a-kind, or otherwise eye-catching? Sold

• If you’re ever in Wilberforce and you spot a girl with a trike collecting beer cans out of the ditches, it’s me

• I strive to be myself — whether others like it or not. You think I’m weird? Good — I am, and I’m proud of it

• As a kid, I never played with dolls or Barbies like most little girls — I liked cars, dinosaurs, and video games

• For twenty years, I collected Monarch caterpillars and raised them into butterflies. My record year was 128.

• I enjoy basic craft projects, such as beaded jewelry, and creating small wooden decor using my father’s lathe. Contrary to popular belief, I do not enjoy painting.

• Everything to do with TJL is created 100% by me: the characters and story / events, the sketches, the final illustrations, the colouring, the lettering, the cover art, and most of the editing (minus my mom doing the final proof read). I also designed, built, and maintain this website and TJL’s social media platforms.

  Those who’ve met me recently know me as carefree, always happy, and confident… but those who knew me as a child remember me as nervous, quiet, and passive. It improved as I got older, but I was still in a constant state of stress. Like many teens, I felt I wasn’t good enough — not pretty enough, cool enough, and so on.

  In addition, I worried about every tiny thing that did, could, or even couldn’t happen — I knew I was being unreasonable, but I couldn’t stop. I thought I was crazy and often degraded myself for it, wondering ‘what the heck is wrong with me’ — which only made it worse. And it did NOT help when people dismissed it: “oh, you’re fine, just don’t worry so much.” Or my favourite lines: “It can’t be that bad.” Well, it is. “Why are you stressed out.” I didn’t know why.

  Until I finally discovered the culprit: an anxiety disorder, which required medication. I am not ashamed to admit that. Because now, I’m happier, and healthier: goodbye nervous stomach and lack of sleep. I no longer fear interacting with new faces or trying new things. My new attitude is, ‘if I mess up, oh well, I can laugh it off’.

  I made sure to incorporate all those negative thoughts and stressful feelings into Overwhelmed; I hope someone struggling with similar issues will read the story and find comfort knowing they are not alone — to realize they don’t need to fit into society’s ‘ideal’ mold.