About Me
Alysse Aallyn
Chekhov said Art is an axe breaking up the frozen soul; the artist’s as well as the audience’s. Life has taught me that appearances are no guide to reality nor history itself any kind of verifiable documentation of what “really happened”; we pass truth living hand to living hand; mostly in the theatre. Can’t do it “online” or by “text” there’s no substitute for “showing up.” We have to put our skin – and blood – in the game.
I am currently a poet attempting to evolve into playwright.
I spent my childhood in the warzone of the Franco-Algerian war – it gave me a child’s eye view of rampant evil. Stones were thrown at me as I walked to an uncomfortable public school of French colonialists and second class Arabs; and men exposed themselves to an 11 year old girl who had the audacity to show her knees; my parents cure was “Quaker reasoning”: attempt to ignite their “inner light.” One of those “reasoning” Quakers they trusted poisoned all my pets; the feral cats in the garden where we lived.
I was sent away to a co-ed Quaker boarding school founded by dissenting free thinkers where dissent was discouraged and religion expression stylized and mandatory. Reading and Art were my rescuers.
Upon escape I studied theatre under David Margulies at Circle in the Square while taking dance at Martha Graham; then danced scandalously (but professionally) in Washington DC while I writing my first novel Devlyn, a supernatural Victorian murder mystery. I was invited to read my poetry at The Folger Shakespeare Library and was a commentator on WPFW radio. My psychological thriller about family betrayal, Find Courtney, garnered excellent reviews.
I am also the author of a book of short stories (Awake Till the End) and two more thrillers - I’ll Sleep When You’re Deadand Depraved Heart(won the 2011 CT Press Club Fiction Prize.) On TV I was a commentator on the ID Channel series Blood Relatives. My purpose has always been to assist the audience in seeing that “first assumptions” and “received wisdom” are ALWAYS wrong; truth c an only be sought for and “won” in crazy opposites and poetic paradoxes.
Longing for the energy fizz of theatre and seeking personal involvement with the audience I wrote short experimental plays; – Make Me(about the Jodi Arias case) and A Bruise A Cut A Feverand the ballet The Wedding Dress.My first full-length play The Honey & the Pang uses only Emily Dickinson’s own words and those of her family as they squabble over her literary inheritance; it gave me the courage to pen SoulM8 about my own romances. College students seeking soulmates are enrolled and exploited as sexual guinea pigs in a heartless “psych” experiment but learn to stop being victims by slaying each others’ dragons. Once again, Art restores. This play's new version Rough Sleep, is receiving a World Premiere April 18,19, & 20 2019 at The Manhattan Repertory Theatre, 19 W. 45th St. NYC directed by Ken Wolf.
Praise for the work of
Alysse Aallyn:
Woman Into Wolf
…a thrill-ride, unique and highly recommended reading.” -Entrepreneur.com
“deceit, rape, fertility, imprisonment and a mother’s grief…as each piece of the tightly coiled fiction was loosed I waited for the revelation to come…she couldn’t imagine the extent of the deception until it was spelled out. Neither could I.” -MyShelf.com
“one of the most unusual mysteries I have ever read…I loved reading Woman Into Wolf… kept me on the edge of my seat right through the end…I highly recommend this novel to fans of crime mysteries that also
enjoy some extra spice in their stories.” -Readerviews.com
“avery fine psychological thriller…
the characters in this book are as bright
as crystal and as sharp as shattered glass.
Aallyn not only can describe them to a
neo-noun, she can make them speak
true to those characters.
Quite a talent…a novel every bit as worthy as
her first.” ArmchairInterviews.com
“Satisfying as hell.”-Quoth the Raven
Find Courtney
“...skillfully peels the layers of her characters,
revealing the protean but fragile
nature of the human personality...
the ultimate demonic psychological thriller”Providence Journal
“...stakes out her own admirable claim
to the genre of psychological thriller,
introducing not one, but two fascinating
characters who take the American dream of
reinventing oneself to new heights—or depths, depending on your view of murder as a fine art”-Hampton Independent
“...tasty sex scenes....quirky dialog...an oddball delight” -Washington Post
“delves into the mystery of deeper meanings and true selves to produce a climax that’s equal parts disturbing and utterly right”
--Baltimore Sun
“Wow! The best psychological thriller I’ve read in years”-The Drood Review of Mystery
Devlyn
”I was very happy with the book. It has intrigue, murder, mystery and romance…
there is also a revelation at the end I was not expecting.” - BookCrazyblogspot 2008.com
“Readers of this one will go on reading”-Publisher’s Weekly
Depraved Heart
“…an intriguing read thriller readers will cherish”-
Midwest Book Review
“four bolts out of five…echoes of the great Southern writers”- New Mystery Review
“a finely wrought evocation of what it means to be young” – Family Secrets Digest
“Alysse Aallyn always seems to figure out what ending would satisfy the reader best” – -CelebuTrends
“You won’t guess killer or motive on this one!. Highly recommended.” - Moonlight & Murder
“Here’s a book that has everything: an engaging first person voice,
believable courtroom coverage, In-depth characterization, obsessional
development and an ending you won’t see coming.-hottest psychological thriller of 2010.”
- Crime Books Quarterly
Awake Till the End
"Filmmakers, start your engines! Plots roll trippingly off this author's pen. Fifteen "mini-novels" whose economy of words and depth of characterization contain multitudinous universes. Very satisfying tales from a master of psychological revelation and suspense."
PlotMaven.com
"To commit crimes against another is a terrible thing, but it is however, very interesting. Awake Till The Endis a collection of short mystery stories from Alysse Aallyn as she provides a walk into the darker side of human nature and the pursuit of the truth that brings them down. Fun and riveting reading, Awake Till The Endis good for plenty of entertainment."
Midwest Book Review
“Surprisingly good…borders on excellent…she keeps you wanting more.”
BlitzBookReview
I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead
*Unique…highly recommended…Not to be missed!”Midwest Book Review "thought-provoking...I identified 100% with these characters"Drishti's Diary "You'll find yourself thinking about it long after you lay it down"FictionPrizewinners "A sweet read with a soul-stirring premise" Romantic Thrillers.com "Alysse Aallyn really draws you in!" Novel Pleasures “a wonderful dream you won't want to wake up from”Angel’s Notes “a metaphysical thriller…read it!” YearsBestBooks.com
Alysse Aallyn’s press for poetry
“These poems kick up their heels” – Quarterly Review of Literature
“The topics of these haiku are as diverse as life itself. Some have an obvious, easy to understand meaning, while others need to be read more than once to really understand them…Haiku enthusiasts certainly won’t be bored with this collection.” - PressRocket
“Lovers of haiku will find a great selection in The Sacred Quiverby Alysse Aallyn. There are haiku about monsters, Mexican Tango, cold calls, pity and gratitude. Readers can open the book randomly and treat themselves to words about love, hate, the meaning of life, the meaning of death and many topics in between. Just when you think all topics you could possibly write about are covered you discover something new on the following page.” – Digital Journal