Willie was born in Ireland in 1940 into a privileged family but chose to work in the Belfast shipyards. He did not finish his time there, but became an actor, eventually touring with an Irish Shakespearean company. He came to Scotland in 1959 to work as a hill shepherd in the Highlands until a tractor accident put an end to that way of life. Enrolling in Stirling University 1974, he graduated in history and published two non-fiction books.

Awarded a Writer's Bursary by the Arts Council, he published a number of short stories with Harper Collins and various journals. At the time he was working as a tutor/counsellor with disturbed children. In 2019, drawing on his experience with young people, Thunderpoint published 'MICK', his novel about a cruelly fostered boy. In the same year, Birlinn published 'THE SHEPHERD AND THE MORNING STAR', a biography/autobiography.

In 2023 Sparsile published 'SHIABA', the first novel of a trilogy set in the Hebrides during the potato famine of 1846-53. It follows the life of a family torn apart by hunger, disease and eviction but surviving to come together again. At the same time, writing under the pseudonym,BILL BAXTER, and drawing on his time on the shipyards, he wrote 'THE CHAINMAN', which was published by Horizon.

In 2025 Archway published 'NOT ONE OF US', an historical novel, set in Jamaica and London in the 18th century. Based on fact, it is about a black woman who challenged William Pitt and the British establishment. Catherine Despard is, in fact, a distant relative.

Trying his hand at self-publishing last year, he produced 'THE SHEARER', a novel set on a very remote island about a family who are consumed by jealousy, addiction and domestic abuse.

He is currently working on a novel set in Jamaica in the 18th century and about a slave owner who has no conscience. It is a study in what Hannah Arendt called 'the banality of evil'. This is due for publication in 2027.

“Over the course of this ambitious novel, which effectively weaves epistolary elements into its narrative, Orr highlights the harsh realities faced by members of the working class . . . .the author has also created a saga with greater ambitions, as it mirrors many themes in today's society. As such, the work addresses such timely topics as activism, social justice and education access.”
– Kirkus Reviews