A folklorist and former military service kid, Orm Hansen loves stories that ring true but have a twist of magic or off-ness: mittens that become a compass when you’re lost, a boy who speaks only in the presence of plants; kids who fall through snow they thought was firm but turns out to be atop a pine tree. Her articles and stories have appeared in regional and national publications from Yankee to Family Fun and Piecework. Her writing hero, Pierre Boulle (Bridge on the River Kwai), was also a fan of off-ness. Orm Hansen lives in a crumbling, old house in Maine.