About
The girl from the north
From the far north she was born and always it will call to her...
Elin de Ruyter was born in Reykjavík, Iceland. At the age of three she emigrated to New Zealand and then two years later to Australia with her parents and sisters.
She enjoys reading and writing historical fiction including women's, romance and fantasy genres.
Creating characters and writing stories has been with her since she was a little girl, when she would make up screenplays for herself and her sisters to act out for fun. Over the years her secret passion for writing was a constant, and her interest in understanding her roots led her to the discovery of midwives in her family tree, a profession she has always been fascinated with.
Mother of Light is Elin's debut novel. She has worked as a professional genealogist and writer and has written articles for the genealogical organisation Icelandic Roots where she specialises in the history of Icelandic midwives.
In August 2020, Iceland called her home, and she moved across the globe with her young family to reconnect with her roots and to write Mother of Light, a story that's been brewing inside her for many years, one deeply inspired by her own midwife ancestors.
In June 2022, after almost two years of exploring her beautiful place of birth, experiencing earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, the midnight sun and the northern lights, Elin returned to Brisbane, Australia, where she currently resides with her husband and four children, and their cheeky little Cavoodle pup, Ylfa. She knows it will only be a matter of time, before Iceland calls her home again...