Elliott Light grew up outside Washington, D.C. in McLean, Virginia before the beltway encircled the capital city, before farms were turned into housing developments, and before open fields became mega-malls. 

The small town of Lyle is his creation and reflects a mixture of true life and fiction drawn from the place he grew up and the places his relatives lived. Light attended the University of Virginia, receiving degrees in Electrical Engineering and Law. 

He now resides in Rockville, Maryland with his wife, Sonya, and their two felines, Sumo and Sasha. Lonesome Song is his first published novel.