The story behind the story

When my little brother decided to marry, my would be sister-in-law already had a daughter. A small blue-eyed girl with two tails of hair and massive energy charge. Anna. I lived in Kyiv back then and had to get back to my native town to meet my new relatives.

Three weeks after my return my brother called and set quite a task before me. “Write a letter to Anna, - he asked. – She is waiting”. But what to write to a six-year-old about? And then I remembered that back at school I was writing fairy tales. Not to mention hundreds of them, that I read! So, I wrote a fairy tale. Then another one, and another. My second niece Stanislava was born, and I got myself two readers. One likes everything. Another (younger) states clearly what she liked and what she didn’t. The critics often give the new ideas for the development of the plot: “Why don’t you have the fish? – What fish? Aquarium fish? – No, auntie (in a reproachful voice). Sharks, for example!” And I am writing a new unplanned chapter about the sharks, when the main plot is inside the Enchanted Forest...

Anna is all grown up now. My third niece was born – Aliona. And I am continuing to write fairy tales for them.