Darcy Thomas Kirk was born in Cut Bank, Montana in 1977 and in 1979 her family moved to Lebanon, Oregon. Darcy now lives in Independence, Oregon with her twin sons and her husband Lance, where they farm a third generation hazelnut farm. An avid photographer, writer and active wife and mother of twin boys she is deeply involved in her community and a member of the local school board.
Darcy began writing seriously at Philomath High School, taking creative writing classes from Ann Staley, her teacher and attending workshops with noted local authors. The dream of becoming an author seemed a long way off but her desire to express herself with the written word was foremost in her mind. Darcy continued to hone on her writing skills while an undergraduate at Oregon State University where she graduated in 2001.
Darcy worked for Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom where she aligned agriculture projects with Oregon State educational standards for seven years. During her time at AITC she taught lessons in agriculture at Oregon Elementary Schools. In this seven year period she became enamored with elementary school children and their literature. Darcy began formulating the idea of writing for children. Though it would not happen for another year she kept writing for enjoyment and for the people in her circle. Darcy practiced her craft writing an article for MOM magazine and a poetry collection. She most enjoys writing for the joy it brings her.
In 2015 Darcy created a writing area in her home and started to work seriously toward her goal of becoming a published author. She set regular hours for writing, organized her thoughts and plans and made every effort to be consistent with her efforts.
The idea for Grandpa’s Orchard was in fact, sitting right outside her kitchen window. Playing out like a movie in slow motion were all the daily workings of the farm. Darcy started to write. She began to capture every moment in words and phrases, weaving family, life, and farm into the beautiful story it is.
