Orange's father was a Native American ceremony leader, while his mother converted for a time to Christianity.

[5] After graduating from college with a Bachelor of Science degree in sound arts, Orange worked at Gray Wolf Books, a bookstore in San Leandro, where he developed a passion for reading and thus began writing.

[10] Orange's second novel Wandering Stars was featured on the cover of the March 2024 issue of BookPage magazine.

He wrote that a sequel felt "Like it belonged in the Marvel-Universe of decision-making, like people would think it was a cash grab even though I made the decision before the success of There There".

His roles were to record oral stories and to staple and make copies of grants, burning sage, and sending them off with a prayer.

He believes that hearing a story similar to one's own is powerful and helps people to feel that they exist, and belong to a real community.