Many of Alysen’s books, workshops, and writings include animals. Growing up on a Wisconsin farm, she and her late mother trained and rode horses and raised other animals, including goats and pigs. Alysen spent 1982 in Australia where she studied at Hawker College in Canberra. She traveled the country and learned about kangaroos, koalas, and other wildlife. In 2023, she began developing projects and merchandise based on the benefits of reading, writing, animals, and being outdoors. She started a weekly blog and newsletter, Winston Weekly, that is part of Bayles Connect: Learn, live, love, read.

Alysen has been featured on PR From the Heart (Children’s Books Spotlight Series #192, 12/21/23), Briggs on Books (Central Valley Talk, 01/10/24), and the Sticky Lawyers podcast-Stories From Lawyers Who Stand Out (Episode 39, 2/5/2024, Sticky Lawyer Storytime: From Litigation to ADR to Children’s Literature). Her article, Cambridge and Clyde: Missouri Connections, appeared in the February 2024 e-bulletin published by Missouri Humanities. Greta Cross, award-winning journalist and Trending Topics Reporter for the Springfield News- Leader, has reported on Alysen’s career and books.

Winston, Alysen’s first children’s book, is loosely based on her family’s late dog who was taken in after being dumped and abused. Winston captures the essence of unconditional love. Silly Sam from Galapagos Land features Ella Cabella and her cat, Silly Sam, along with Myrtle Turtle. Cambridge and Clyde, early reader fiction, includes a brief history of the Joplin, Missouri E-5 tornado, and George Washington Carver’s roots in Diamond, Missouri. Cambridge and Clyde received a Story Monsters Seal of Approval for Early Reader Fiction and Cultural Diversity. In collaboration with ABC Books in Springfield, Missouri, Safe and Sober receives a portion of the proceeds from the sales of Cambridge and Clyde. http://www.safeandsober.org.

Alysen Bayles is the pen name for former litigator Laurel Stevenson, honoring her late grandfather. Non-law stories often developed while waiting for verdicts (more than 80 of them) and sleepless nights in countless hotel rooms. Alysen pivoted full-time to dispute resolution in 2020. Alysen and her husband of 30+ years have two adult children. They are avid sports fans and enjoy cooking and the Food Network.