By: Zach Miller
Professional journalist, author, and founder of Marsiada Inc., Anastasia Iakovleva has over eighteen years of experience in international business magazines World Economic Journal, Financial One, and CITY MAGAZINE. She holds two higher degrees: one in law from Tyumen State University and another in journalism from Lomonosov Moscow State University. She interviewed influential global politicians and businessmen. Having written more than 1,000 articles, 50 video interviews, and four custom biographies, Anastasia has now dedicated her passion for storytelling to Marsiada Inc. In this interview, she shares her journey, inspirations, and diverse projects, from narratives like Six Psycho Ladies to the imaginative world of UNIQUE.
Anastasia, you have an incredible journey from being a journalist to becoming a published author. What inspired your transition into storytelling, and how has your background in journalism influenced your books?
Working as a journalist, I interviewed many different people – from small businessmen to major international politicians and owners of global corporations. Watching people, I was surprised at how incredible things they told behind the scenes. It was another world, hidden from ordinary people. Inspiring and amazing. So I thought it would be interesting to write about some stories, of course, changing the names and the course of events.
People always inspire each other to do something. Think about it. All our actions are somehow connected with society and with thoughts about what others will think of us and how we will look in the eyes of other people. That’s why people are interested in knowing what others are doing and how they are doing. They like to read and listen to other people’s stories. That’s why people are my inspiration.
Could you tell us about Marsiada Inc.? What is the vision behind this project, and how does it tie into your passion for storytelling and creativity?
The Marsiada project unites everything that my team and I do. First of all, it is video interviews and custom book publishing by system “all inclusive” (from the idea of the book that the customer had to publish on Amazon.com), as well as publishing a series of my own books with real stories and children’s fairy tales. In addition, we have now started developing a children’s YouTube channel “Marsiada” with short cartoons generated using AI. It all started with the creation of the YouTube channel “Private Talk” as a platform for telling the stories of successful Russian-speaking business women from the former CIS countries living in the USA. But over time, men appeared on the channel, including Americans. And now we have changed the name to “Privet Story,” and in the near future, the concept of the channel will also change a little. These will no longer be interviews about any business that Russian-speaking women in America are engaged in; these will be stories from life. But we are only at the beginning of our journey! In addition, we are currently upgrading the course “Fairy Tale Therapy,” which helps parents find a common language with their children and solve problems by simply making up fairy tales at home.
“Six Psycho Ladies” delves into stories based on real events from your experiences as a journalist. What inspired you to explore these narratives, and what message do you hope readers take away from this book?
I really like to think about people’s destinies and how our actions influence our lives. I am a lawyer in my first education (and a journalist in my second education). And I remember that I really liked studying cause-and-effect relationships in a course on forensics. Ha-ha! By the way, some of my favorite movies, which are also connected with people’s stories and the influence of their decisions on their entire subsequent life, are “The Game” with Michael Douglas and “The Butterfly Effect.” But, I got a little distracted!)
In this regard, I would like to say that each of us has a moment when we do something we didn’t expect from ourselves. And this is the very moment when we begin to ask ourselves questions: Was it really me? How well do I know myself, and do I know myself in general? How will I act in a force majeure situation for myself? Will I become a victim or turn into a hunter in danger? Will I forgive the offense? Will I fight for self-salvation? etc. In my life, there were also situations when I did not recognize myself and was surprised by my actions. And I think that every person, at least once in his life, faces situations in which he makes unexpected decisions for himself. My stories are written in straightforward language, and there are no philosophical reflections and reasoning about how the hero acted. All conclusions and inferences are made by the reader himself. Therefore, the philosophy of the stories themselves is to give the reader food for thought about himself, his boundaries and principles and how he would act in the place of the hero of the story.
The characters in your “UNIQUE” series, such as the brave animals exploring space, are relatable yet fantastical. How did you develop these characters, and what lessons do you hope children and families learn from their adventures?
When I became a mother (my son is 7 years old), I started thinking about what fairy tales I would tell my little one. I wanted to find a fairy tale that would teach him to believe in himself and miracles! The belief that sometimes the impossible is possible! That if you really want it, you can fly into space! At the same time, I wanted it not to be a primitive children’s fairy tale but with a twisted plot and instilling in children an interest in science and space. In the end, I wrote such a fairy tale myself. By the way, the main character, inventor Alan Maka, is a prototype of a person I admire – Elon Musk. It is he who sends the heroes of my fairy tale Hamster, Orange Fluffy and Puppy Dog to explore Mars. I want to send my fairy tale as a gift to Elon Musk. Who knows his contacts? Tell me, please.
Therefore, the main lessons of this fairy tale are – explore the world, don’t stop and believe in yourself! Even if now you are a lonely and useless hamster, if you dream, you will achieve your goal and become great! I have published the first and second parts of the fairy tale, as well as a coloring book based on the plot.
In the second part of “UNIQUE”, which is called “UNIQUE: Planet Call”, the heroes of the tale, returning from Mars, fall into a black space hole, where they end up on a planet-clone of the Earth. Tell us, what is the idea of the plot?
I often think about the fact that we are not alone – not only in our Universe, but also beyond it. The idea of “UNIQUE: Planet Call” is that on a planet-clone of the Earth in a parallel Universe, the fantasies and dreams of real people who live on the real planet Earth come to life. And besides, the heroes of these animated fantasies are able to mentally contact their owners – the people who invented them. The main characters of the book meet on this clone planet, for example, a German rock star who is tired of publicity and dreams of being alone for one day and just mowing wheat in a field, so that there are no paparazzi and fans around. And also a panda flying on a car sparkling with neon lights, which has birds instead of ordinary wheels – all this is the embodiment of the fantasies of a Chinese schoolgirl who dreams about this during lessons at school. I will not tell you further, it is better to read it yourself – there is a lot of interesting stuff in the book.
Whether it’s the grounded narratives of “Six Psycho Ladies” or the imaginative worlds of UNIQUE: The Untold Secret and UNIQUE: Planet Call, what inspires you to create stories that are so diverse in tone and theme?
I am a woman who is interested in passions and self-knowledge, and also a loving mother who wants the best for her child. These two states inspire me to write such different books.
You have accomplished so much in journalism, writing, and education. What new projects or stories can readers look forward to from you and Marsiada Inc.?
First of all, I started writing a new series with women’s stories. In addition, we started a project to visualize the stories using AI neural networks. For this, a professional voice over artist was invited, who recorded the stories in a whisper into a highly sensitive microphone of 3Dio Binaural ASMR sound. The publication of the first series has been a bit delayed, so I can’t give a time frame yet. But I believe that it will be very interesting!
Published by Mark V.
