Whiteley, Aliya 1974-

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Whiteley, Aliya 1974-

PERSONAL:

Born 1974, in Barnstaple, Devon, England; married. Education: Earned degree.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Cambridgeshire, England.

CAREER:

Writer.

WRITINGS:

Mean Mode Median, Bluechrome (Bristol, England), 2004.

Three Things about Me, Macmillan (London, England), 2006.

Light Reading, Macmillan (London, England), 2008.

SIDELIGHTS:

Aliya Whiteley is an English writer who earned a degree in theatre, film, and television studies. Whiteley published her first book, Mean Mode Median, in 2004.

In 2006 Whiteley published Three Things about Me. The book introduces seven unique characters, all in training for customer service positions in the same company. The odd bunch includes Amie, who grew up in a fundamentalist commune until her family was kicked out; Sam, a middle-aged man with a secret identity; and Alma, a failed actress reeling from a tell-all exposé and a bitter divorce. Others include a rockstar wannabe, a manipulative backstabber with ambitions of middle management, a sociopath, and a woman with a strong cynical side who tragically lost all of her friends in a rappelling accident. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews commented that "Whiteley's observations about cubicle dwellers will be utterly familiar to anyone who has ever watched The Office or followed Dilbert in the funny pages." The same critic concluded, however, that this "quirky" novel is ultimately "a strange, unsatisfying debut."

Whiteley's third book, Light Reading, published in 2008, is set on a British Royal Air Force base. Prudence finds her dull life becoming a bit more interesting when another base wife commits suicide after learning that her husband had an affair with another man. Pru and her friend Lena further investigate the ordeal, only to find that they must face their own demons in the process.