Olga Thanks for the kind words, Sheila. I think the foundation was laid in childhood. On summer evenings, we sat on the porch and looked at the starry sky, listening to grasshoppers, frogs and mother’s stories. In addition, my family has always had a special relationship with books that show the beauty of human qualities. Besides, I always painted. 🙂 And even when I later had no opportunity to buy paints, I always had a pencil and a piece of paper on hand. All my notebooks at school and at the university were filled with drawings.

Later, when I became a mother, I told tales to my children. These books helped me cultivate kindness, gratitude, the ability to hear my heart, dream and follow my dreams and other best human qualities that are important in order to be happy in life.

Olga A deep question … You are absolutely right. As in any country, Russia has its own rich history of storytelling. As for example L. Tolstoy, A. Chekhov. I first read the books of these writers at the ages of 8-9 and that gave me an awareness of the depth and value of the qualities of a person, regardless of the conditions in which he/she may find themself. Also, probably genetics helped … I have teachers in my family who were able to convey the best traditions of educating human qualities, despite difficult trials. Many years ago, my great-great-grandmother – Countess Lebedeva left St. Petersburg, and when she was on the Far East and was able to create conditions for people, she built a school, hospital, and temple.

I am a happy person because I have an amazing mom… My mom gave me an amazing childhood. She was able to support and develop my inner freedom, awareness of the wisdom and beauty of life and the harmony of the natural world. There have never been restrictions in my heart, and at the same time, there have been very solid foundations of human values. This helped me through many difficulties in my life and to maintain my inner world, despite the pressure, especially at that time. I have always been able to save in my inner world the wonderful “little girl” with many questions such as “Why,” and this little girl has always had the ability to see the beauty of our world.

Olga Yes, you are right. Gifts from my mother became the most valuable gifts in my life because they provided a wonderful foundation that helped me build my life, regardless of the circumstances in which I found myself. That foundation allowed me to reveal my potential, and I continue to develop it even now. I try to convey the importance of this in all my books.

The life of each of us is like building a house. I always talk about this when meeting with parents. We cannot build a “happy home” for our children, but we can teach our children how to build their own using tools and technology. We can also teach our children to choose the best materials to build their happy home. When we focus only on external success – money, a career, we build a house on the sand. When we recognize the value of individual human qualities, and the value of the family, we create a solid foundation and we also take responsibility for building it. In other words, “I am responsible for what I create in my life”. It is like in my fairy tale about the fluffy cloud “When you expect help, you get angry if it’s late or never comes.”

I try to convey the basic principles of building a “Happy Home” in my tales. This includes integrity with oneself and the people you interact with, the ability to be grateful, the ability to rejoice at what is in life and the ability to dream and believe in one’s strength. Other principles include the ability to see one’s own uniqueness and talents and see the uniqueness of every person, to respect oneself and others, and the ability to take responsibility for one’s decisions, actions, and results. My heroes are the inhabitants of nature. When I am asked why, I reply: “Because we are also part of nature.” I do have works in which the characters are also children and adults, such as my fairy tale novel Golden Palace. Also, The Way of the Ruler, where the main character is a boy and his family, and with them: a mountain, an eagle, a snow leopard, an old apple tree and many other heroes. I hope this year I will have time to release another adventure fairy tale The Black Hole Palace, King Fear and Magic Formula. All these works support my promotion of values to create one’s own “Happy Home.” I hope these tales will become good helpers and friends for children and parents in the construction of “Happy Homes” all over the world.

Olga Thank you, Sheila. This is a very deep question. In my life, fairy tales really occupied a special place. They helped me preserve my inner world, develop and overcome difficulties. Fairy tales did not take me away from reality, on the contrary, they helped me create my reality. Looking back, I smile and ask: “How did I do this?” That is why I began to invent fairy tales for my children when they were very small. They have a strong foundation for the best human qualities. Fairy Tales also helped me give them a strong foundation to develop their own “Happy Home.” I try to convey this through my works. And more about fairy tales …

A fairy tale is always a special kind of creativity because it removes the internal restrictions that are often formed from external influences. A fairy tale removes limitation and both empowers and reveals the personality of a child in all their fullness and strength. A fairy tale also develops responsibility: everything that I create I see in reality. A fairy tale shows the power of the best qualities of a person. In a fairy tale, good always wins, but it shows how important it is to be able to trust your heart and follow it. That is why I chose these words as an epigraph to my play for theatre Where do Fairy Tales Live:

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”― Albert Einstein

“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”― C.S. Lewis

Olga This project was born this past summer. For me, English is a new language that I am learning, step by step, and my husband gives me great and wise support. He very deeply understands the importance and value of supporting parents in raising children and also English is his native language. He is the Editor-in-Chief of all my translations. One day, he and I thought about how wonderful it would be to create books that would be passed on from generation to generation in families as a valuable legacy. This idea was prompted by an article in a magazine about how printed books help strengthen the interaction between children and parents. There are a large number of electronic devices that deprive children and parents of the opportunity to communicate with each other. My practice of working with parents for more than 20 years from around the world also showed me that all families have favorite books. Also, books are easily available. But it is important to understand the value of any given book to help parents in developing in their child a happy and successful personality. All my experience has become the basis of the project.

We thought for a long time about what to call it and eventually we settled on the title “Value Books for Family History.” Why for family history? Because each family creates their own story and each family is unique. Parents need choices to support creating their best story. This is how our project came about. My husband Joff is a businessman in the paper industry, and he is very well versed in paper production. We held several meetings with printing houses and found a great option for printing books on fine paper with the highest quality using state of the art printing technologies under environmentally friendly conditions: technology, paint, use of energy sources. We liked the attitude of the company. Conveniently, this printing house is very close to our house in Vermont. These are miracles.

And of course, attention to content. The first step is a series of books. Its name is Magic Tales for Children and Parents. This is a rainbow series, seven books in which there will be 49 fairy tales. The first book of seven has already been published and is available for sale. The second is now in the works. Fairy tales for books 3,4,5 of a series have already been written. This is how the project began to develop. But, I think that it will be much broader than I am explaining it now because I believe that this project can attract other authors and many other participants who understand positive family values and that this project has great prospects for development. Family values and human qualities are always important, and this project supports them.

Olga I like your question, Sheila! I’ll share the tips that I give myself.

1. Start each book by forgetting about what you have already created. Imagine that you are embarking on a new journey with your heroes and don’t bring any baggage of being a writer or artist.

2. Create stories and drawings from your heart, not your mind. This means to feel the child in yourself–a child who sees the world with joyful eyes. Joy in your heart reveals the beauty of our world.

3. Before you start creating, ask yourself the question of a Wizard: Why am I creating this story or illustration? Will this creation help readers improve what is in their life?

The first advice helps me to be original in every work that I create, regardless of genre and size, be it a novel, a fairy tale, or a play. Maybe A jester who wants to see strawberries growing, a pink cat who lives on a cloud and creates dreams, a boy who is looking for the four keys of the Circle of Unity, or a dandelion, who dreams of learning to fly. 🙂

The second piece of advice stops me from being a boring teacher, who begins to feed wisdom or ideas as if from a spoon. The same advice helps to create illustrations filled with light and bright clear colors.

The third tip addresses my responsibility for what I create. Words and drawings are very powerful because of the images they create.

All three tips help answer the key questions of “What” and “Why.” Of course, professional knowledge of technology, such as working with paper and paints is important, but this is already an answer to the question “How.” If we know the answers to the questions “What” – what do I want to create? and “Why” – why am I creating this story or illustration?

The question “How” – How can I convey what I want to share with readers in the best way, is easily solved and this also motivates us to constantly develop and improve ourselves. And of course, just love what you do! Enjoy the process itself, because any book is not only the result – it is a way.

Olga I think the problem in the children’s publishing industry is typical for many areas of production. Customers are not just buyers, but also choosers. When we shop, we select the product from a position of value. Now for parents, there is no longer a question of where to buy a book, but a question of which book to buy. What is the value of the book? What is its usefulness for the harmonious upbringing and development of a child’s personality?

I think now is the time for a qualitative change in the children’s publishing industry. This applies to both the content and design of books. I think the popularity of E-books has reached its peak. The publication of printed books will remain popular due to the growing problem of devices and their negative impact on health, and the harmonious development of children. Reading a book together is also one of the best ways to develop parent-child relationships from heart to heart.

For me personally, the changes in recent years are related to the implementation of my new project Values for Family History: this is the preparation of new books, as well as the study of design and layout programs, preparation of illustrations for printing and many other issues related to the development of a publishing house. And more … An amazing time has just come in my life. I am happy that now I can realize my dream to the fullest–to provide books of value for children and parents.

Olga Oh! There are so many of them … And yet, perhaps, one of my most beloved Winnie the Pooh. This is a book for all ages. I still feel like the different heroes: sometimes like Eeyore, sometimes Winnie, very often Piglet. I’m Kanga and Tiger too … Favorite phrases … There are many of them … I don’t remember verbatim, and I read a translated version of Winnie. But one that sticks with me is:

Situation: Winnie and his friends help the Owl to move to a new hollow. In response to the remark that perhaps these old rugs with holes are no longer needed, the Owl replies: “… you just need to arrange the furniture correctly.”

I love it! Sometimes we really need to arrange the furniture correctly…

Olga Thank you, Sheila. You know, I was once again reminded of the strength and beauty of asking questions. Answering your questions, I saw what I have created more deeply. They helped me see with more clarity and depth that I create the best when I share with writers, artists, readers and colleagues from heart to heart. Thank you!