The Sway and Slide of Love

The fans of both leads were at each other's throats, but the production team and the streaming platform were more than happy to see this. After all, in this day and age, even explosive controversy was better than being ignored entirely.

Around this time, Evelyn reached out to her with a new project.

Noelle hadn't released any new works in the past two months, only taking on smaller, freelance gigs. With the TV drama gaining so much attention, the company naturally wanted to capitalize on the momentum and give her career a boost.

"I haven't had much time or inspiration lately. Let's talk about it another time."

"Come on. You've been saying that for months now."

"I know, but Rosie's still young, and it's not like she can grow up overnight."

"Alright, fine. If you're not ready for a new project, how about an interview? Surely you can do that?"

"What kind of interview?"

"It's a live podcast interview hosted by a publisher we've worked with before. Since the drama's doing so well, they want to interview the original author to help boost the sales of your comic."

Noelle had been about to turn down the interview, but Evelyn seemed to

anticipate her hesitation, so she quickly added, "Don't worry. I know your principles. We won't use your photo for publicity. That's why we've chosen to do a podcast since you won't need to show your face then."

Hearing this, Noelle softened. "Alright, then."

"Great! I'll let them know right now and send you the schedule later," Evelyn said cheerfully.

But since Noelle had to work around Rosie's schedule, the interview was set for 11:00 pm after Rosie had fallen asleep.

Noelle had assumed the interview would focus on her creative process and the growth of the female lead in the story. And that was exactly what the host asked about at least in the very beginning.

But after a few questions, the host suddenly shifted gears. "So, does the female lead's journey have any connection to your own experiences?"noveldrama

Noelle was caught off guard. Before she could respond, the host pressed on, "We all know you were married before, so is the male lead in your comic based on someone from real life?"

Since it was a live-streamed

interview, the moment the host finished speaking, the previously calm chat section exploded. Listeners flooded the screen with questions, and some even dropped Hendrix's name.

"No," Noelle replied firmly. "As I've said before, this work is entirely fictional. It has nothing to do with my personal experience, nor were any of the characters based on real people."

"But we all know that the author's personality and experiences often seep into their work. You've been through things most people haven't, so are you sure none of that made its way into your story?"

The host was clearly not going to let this go.

Noelle realized this might have been the real purpose of the interview. They had chosen a live format specifically to corner her, leaving no room for evasion.

After mentally cursing Evelyn several

times over, Noelle finally found her voice. "No. As you can see, the male lead in this story is a positive, uplifting character, whereas I've never met anyone like that immy own life.

"But isn't that why we read novels and comics? To experience things that don't

exist in real life? So no, my work doesn't have-nor will it ever have any real-life inspirations."