Bjørn Larssen (he/him)
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bjornlarssen.com
Bjørn Larssen (he/him)
@bjornlarssen.com
2.7K followers 340 following 4.9K posts
Norse grimdark and historical fantasy author. Queer from the Tortured Authors Department. Queen's Book Asylum and Before We Go Blog contributor. ’Land’ (The Ten Worlds book 2) out now! https://www.bjornlarssen.com
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bjornlarssen.com
Excuse me, I am a WHAT?
The final graph of ‘Your Nonmonogamy Compass Results’ declaring me a POLYCULE SLUTCLOUD. What even are those words precious?
November 22, 2025 at 9:49 AM
bjornlarssen.com
George’s new book which collects the Aotearoa stories is out now. No, this isn’t paid advertisement. It’s just delightful.
The cover of ‘Tiny Moments of Joy’ by George Penney, presented as an e-book and a paperback.
November 22, 2025 at 9:46 AM
bjornlarssen.com
STOP. this is a selfie checkpoint. you must repost with a cute selfie to proceed.

Hmmm. I don’t know about cute… let's go with ‘old’. Those are synonyms, right?
Bjørn’s selfie, as requested. Bjørn is wearing a hat that’s angled somewhat funny and he smiles his ‘those are cheekbones’ smile. The beard is very short – it is an old photo (2011). Chest tattoos peak out from underneath his khaki tank top. There is a khaki jacket on top, unzipped. The hat is also khaki. Come to think of it, he probably liked that colour at that point in life. Damn, he looks young. He wouldn’t mind being so young 14 years later. Especially his right knee.
November 22, 2025 at 9:45 AM
bjornlarssen.com
#WIPSnips Today marks Bragi’s first appearance – he’s the God of skaldic poetry, whose words are so powerful they replace truth. (He is also the actual inventor of ‘alternative facts’. True story.*)

#NorseMythology won’t know what hit it…

Book I → www.whyodindrinks.com

*might not be a true story
“We have an appointment,” Bragi said quietly. Heimdall gasped. “My apologies,” he said, stepping away so quickly he nearly landed in the ocean between Midgard and Ásgard – an ocean that narrowed to a point here at the Rainbow Bridge, which might or might not mean Heimdall was also narrowing to a point. “If you walk in this direction, you can’t miss Odin’s hall. I’m so sorry, I didn’t want to…” he continued explaining himself to Odin’s guests as they headed in the aforementioned direction. Hold on, he thought, surprised. The only way to make appointments with Odin was via his secretary. Odin did not employ one. “Wait!” he bellowed. “Stop right there!” They paid him no heed, marching straight towards Valaskjalf, holding hands. Their stride was so decisive it suggested they’d been there a hundred times before.
November 21, 2025 at 11:50 AM
bjornlarssen.com
#WIPSnips Today, young Freya is trying to understand the mysteries of love. Trivia: Freya, the Goddess of love, is incapable of actually experiencing it.

#NorseMythology won’t know what hit it…

Book I:
→ www.whyodindrinks.com
Freya’s visits to Midgard were not limited to Queen Taylor’s lessons. She observed. She experimented. The most blood-thirsty of warriors, ones who liked their steak crying ‘mooo!’ as it tried to run away from the fork and knife, composed the most awful poems for their beloveds. They burned with excited humiliation, shakily handing a bouquet of daisies to the object of their adoration. Sometimes. On the other hand – hipsters, invented way too early to be in any demand, turned into roaring beasts when hearing the word ‘no.’ If I can’t have him, the inventor of wearing clothes ironically declared, nobody will. Sometimes. A bit like Queen Taylor’s blank space. If it bled when stabbed. On the third hand, there was everything and everyone else, including identical twins falling for identical twins, each acting completely differently…
November 19, 2025 at 10:26 AM
bjornlarssen.com
#WIPSnips A very short excerpt this time. Freya has been meddling with love lives of those who dared to cross her. If you know Norse lore, you know how this ends for poor Angrboda…

#NorseMythology won’t know what hit it…

Book I:
→ www.whyodindrinks.com
Yes, Freya thought, smiling to herself warmly and petting Brísingamen. Today, she had shown nothing but kindness. Angrboda had no idea how generous and understanding Freya was towards her. Where Sif would spend the rest of her immortality consumed by jealousy, Angrboda would never experience the feeling, since she’d sacrifice anything including herself to make Loki happy.
November 17, 2025 at 3:34 PM
bjornlarssen.com
What perfect album came out the year you turned 16?
The cover of ‘janet.’ by Janet Jackson.
November 17, 2025 at 12:12 PM
bjornlarssen.com
Today, with traditional delay, 30 Books for 30 Days on Google Play brings you urban fantasy by @authorjmac.bsky.social (Joanna Maciejewska).

books.bookfunnel.com/30days30book...
The banner depicts the cover of Joanna Maciejewska’s Humanborn with the text: 30 Books 30 Days Day 12 • Urban fantasy • Inspired by European mythology • First in series • Set in Ireland • Badass FMC • Magiclysm/Magicapocalypse • Magical civil war
November 13, 2025 at 10:50 PM
bjornlarssen.com
#WIPSnips Today’s snippet continues from right where the last one ended. I like having Gunnars in my books.

#NorseMythology won’t know what hit it…

Book I:
→ www.whyodindrinks.com
“Gunnar,” interrupted the chieftain’s wife. “Have some manners. May I offer you more water, Your Grace?” “Actually, yes,” said Freya, surprising herself. She hadn’t drunk water as good and clear for many winters. The Jötunheim water tasted fresh even before it became mint tea. “And more wood on the fire.” Gunnar fulfilled her wish with such enthusiasm Freya had to stop him from burning everything in the building, including the building itself. His wife refilled Freya’s clay mug – something Freya would never touch if it didn’t contain this water – and stared at the Goddess, doe-eyed. They both loved her more than life itself, with the sort of quiet, breathless love that wouldn’t dream of saying ‘heh, heh’. Freya briefly appreciated both Bragi and Odin’s spying that led to fixing the damage before it finished occurring. She didn’t come here to bask in the warmth of adoration, though, but in search for information.
November 13, 2025 at 5:24 PM
bjornlarssen.com
Thanks so much, @esmeweatherwax8.bsky.social – as you can see, Husby started immediately :)
Three sorts of cotton thread with gradient colours: dark blue to pale blue, red to yellow, black to yellow.
November 12, 2025 at 7:41 PM
bjornlarssen.com
Slightly delayed day 11 of 30 Books/30 Days on Google brings you grimdark Norse fantasy by @bjornlarssen.com:

→ books.bookfunnel.com/30days30book...
Banner presenting the cover of Children by Bjørn Larssen with the text: E-Books on Google Easy, Accessible, Convenient 30 Books 30 Days, Day 11 • Grimdark fantasy • Inspired by Norse mythology • First in series • 2020 Stabby Nominee – Best Self-Published/Independent Novel • 2022 Queer Indie Lit Award • Picky Bookwarm Award – Best Worldbuilding
November 12, 2025 at 9:00 AM
bjornlarssen.com
#WIPSnips Today, Freya graces Jötunheim with her presence – an act so rare that they can’t believe it. Can they believe it? No, they really can’t believe it.

A longer excerpt in alt-text!

#NorseMythology won’t know what hit it…

Book I:
→ www.whyodindrinks.com
“You, there! Where am I?” “Who’s asking?” “I am Freya,” she said, shaking off the hood. “The Goddess of—” “Your Grace…!” the man gasped, dropping to his knees in the cold mud. “I couldn’t thank you enough for gracing us with your presence!” No, Freya thought, rather pleased, in this weather you couldn’t. Bragi had been here already. This will forever be the greatest day of this man’s life. She considered letting him kiss the hem of her cloak and decided it was already dirty enough. “I would love to meet the local leaders,” she said. “Actually, I would love to be carried to meet the local leaders. In a litter. Not ‘in litter’. Arrange it.” The man tried to walk backwards while still kneeling. “I can’t believe it,” he whispered. “The Goddess Freya. My family won’t believe it.” “I can’t believe it,” confirmed the local chieftain relatively soon afterwards, as Freya sat by a long hearth that turned the room into a giant smoker instead of warming it. “The Goddess Freya. Anything for you, Your Grace. Anything. If we had known, we would have organised a spontaneous gathering of your followers. I have sent messengers to nearby towns. If you can wait until tomorrow, we’ll spontaneously gather…”
November 10, 2025 at 6:35 PM
bjornlarssen.com
Day 10 of 30 books on Google brings you an epic high fantasy book by Shannon Knight:

books.bookfunnel.com/30days30book...

💙📚 🌈🚀💫 📚🌎 📢📚 🩷🧙♂️⚔️ 🪐📚 🩸 #booksky #queersky
Cover of Wish Givers by Shannon Knight. The banner says: 30 Books 30 Days Day 10 Epic High Fantasy Unique Magic Powers Found Family Tropical Island Setting Competent FMC
November 10, 2025 at 9:37 AM
bjornlarssen.com
#WIPSnips Today, we discover Low Quality Facts about Thor’s prowess at making sweet, sweet love after practicing the Art of Seduction.

#NorseMythology won’t know what hit it…
Book I: → www.whyodindrinks.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:57 AM
bjornlarssen.com
#WIPSnips Today Sif, Thor’s brand new wife, decides to redecorate to please his warm and very hairy heart. (Don’t visualise this) If you’ve read ‘Children’, you knew how successful she will be. If not… book III will tell you.

#NorseMythology won’t know what hit it…

Book I:
→ www.whyodindrinks.com
The smell. Just as Freya warned. Goats and something burning. The dust. So much dust. A few buildings, one of which must have been a forge. Sheds. A green field that gave her some hope until she saw goats frolicking around and little else. The goats had to go, except the magical ones. The sheds might have been even worse. All this place was lacking were barking dogs and dirty children playing in the dust. Clearly, the other Gods were using Thor’s hall as some sort of – storage, abusing his generosity and internal goodness during his absences. Sif has never thought about it, but now it was clear – her husband was too shy to protest. Everyone knew that Ásgard was the smallest of the worlds, but this was simply unforgivable. Thor deserved so much better and she would give it to him. Pastels. If one man had ever worked hard enough to deserve pastels, it was the one she loved with her whole heart.
November 8, 2025 at 1:31 PM
bjornlarssen.com
#WIPSnips Today is less funny than usual. Angrboda is giving birth to Jörmungandr, the Midgard serpent, whose father is Loki because of course it's Loki.

An extra bit in alt text!

#NorseMythology won't know what hit it...

Book I:
→ www.whyodindrinks.com
“Thank you,” Freya said. “Now please go to Hel.” The maid curtsied and left the two women alone. “It’s already happening,” Angrboda said. “He’s coming out.” “What do you mean ‘coming out’?” Freya reached to grab the blanket covering the bottom half of Angrboda. The woman stopped her. “Look, my belly is shrinking.” And it was. The movement underneath the skin looked terrifying, as if Angrboda’s internal organs were having a fight, but she was…deflating. Freya stared in horror. If she had seen the movie Alien, she’d describe it as ‘like that, but more’. “Please let me see,” she pleaded. “Once he’s fully out, if that’s okay. Oh, I am feeling so much lighter…” Angrboda’s eyes closed. “So much,” she added in a weaker voice. “He’s a long boy.” “Big,” Freya automatically corrected. Angrboda’s hand tightened on hers. “Sweetie? Is it hurting?” “Not at all,” Angrboda whispered. “As his life begins, mine is ending. The lady who visited me last night was right.”
November 7, 2025 at 1:42 PM
bjornlarssen.com
#WIPSnips From the penultimate chapter of Bloodbath & Beyond – Freya discovers she's currently located in the second book, not the first.

#NorseMythology won't know what hit it...

Book I:
→ www.whyodindrinks.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:59 PM
bjornlarssen.com
#WIPSnips Today, we go with 'trailers' and give some attention to the aftermath of The Great War between the Æsir and the Vanir. Also, Bragi's superpower.

#NorseMythology won't know what hit it...

Book I:
→ www.whyodindrinks.com
“My second envoy is Hoenir,” said Odin. “The greatest of leaders. Everyone will follow him anywhere. He’s got one of those voices they use in movie trailers. He will do everything you instruct him to.” The All-Father paused. There was more to Hoenir, which he didn’t want to say out loud: Hoenir always did as instructed. Without instructions, he was helpless. He was Bragi’s artistic experiment gone wrong; the singer-songwriter wrote a funky jig insisting in consecutive verses that the sky was blue, green, and red. All those things, therefore, were true. Ever since Hoenir listened to the song, he was capable of starving with two loaves of bread in front of him, unable to choose the right one unprompted.
November 5, 2025 at 1:03 PM
bjornlarssen.com
How your email finds me:
November 4, 2025 at 6:37 PM
bjornlarssen.com
#WIPSnips Today, we discover why exactly the Norsemen thought Freya's holy animals were cats. It's Sif's doing. Freya (this is a little known fact) is allergic to cats.

#NorseMythology won't know what hit it...

Book I:
→ www.whyodindrinks.com
Sif’s lips formed an ‘o’ shape. Freya clearly hated cats. Wouldn’t it be hilarious to spread rumours about the cats being Freya’s holy animals she was always surrounded with? Instead of Thor’s chariot, pulled by goats, Freya’s would of course be pulled by cats… The steely smirk returned. Cats, the only animals you could count on to never listen to commands. A semi-forgotten piece of knowledge arrived: Bragi, the God of bards, poets, and singer-songwriters. Surely he wouldn’t refuse The Immortal Goddess Sif a tiny favour of spreading the word about Freya’s love for cats.
November 4, 2025 at 6:33 PM
bjornlarssen.com
First record you bought?

Madonna, True Blue. A classic to this day. My first vinyl. If the question was 'first recording' or something like that I'd have to admit what my first cassette tape was, and it was noticeably less cool.
Artwork for Madonna's album True Blue.
November 3, 2025 at 3:56 PM
bjornlarssen.com
#WIPSnips Today, Sif decides it is nicer to be a Goddess than a regular witch... I mean, fortune-teller... but now she needs to find out what exactly her goddessing entails.

#NorseMythology won't know what hit it.

Book I:
→ www.whyodindrinks.com
Where was she supposed to get magical powers from? Would they throw her out once they found out she had none? Sif was good at few things. Deceiving people stupid enough to deserve it. Washing, drying, and brushing her hair. What else… oh, she missed her husband so much it was hard to think… eating. She could do that. Yelling at noisy children, although it wasn’t a safe thing for a fortune-teller to do… Oh! Sif, the Goddess-in-waiting, no longer had to be nice to everyone! She could wear black if she felt like it! She could even cackle, not that she intended to do it, but she could.
November 3, 2025 at 3:26 PM
bjornlarssen.com
I am very tempted to make this my new author photo.
The backside of leathered-up Bjørn walking down wooden stairs surrounded by foliage in Terschelling. The sky is blue, but cloudy, very impressive visually. The Bjørn forms approximately 3% of the image which is his favourite proportion of Bjørn-to-nature.
November 2, 2025 at 11:18 AM
bjornlarssen.com
October 30, 2025 at 10:07 AM
bjornlarssen.com
#WIPSnips Today, things get serious, as Freya uses her nuclear lovebomb. This isn’t as romantic as you’d think and leads to births of Loki’s three monstrous children. Love, eh?

#NorseMythology won’t know what hit it…

Book I:
→ www.whyodindrinks.com

Extra bit in alt-text!
How long would it take until Loki got bored of his new toy? Five winters? One? Until tomorrow? As Freya sat in Angrboda’s abode, nodding as the woman babbled about whatever it was she was babbling about, she was working. There was no independence in the future of this particular spirit. The Goddess of love and war was using the most powerful weapon she could imagine, one that she’d use on Odin one day when he wasn’t looking, weaving a spell even she couldn’t unbind. She wrapped a layer around a layer around a layer until the spell had no beginning and no end, like a serpent eating its own tail. During Freya’s earlier experiments, people killed those they professed to love, or committed suicide – sometimes both. Angrboda, however, would never harm herself, because that could mean losing one precious moment with Loki. She seemed healthy. She’d live long and not prosper. Unless it was possible to die of love? Freya couldn’t wait to find out. Yes, Freya thought, smiling to herself warmly and petting Brísingamen. Today, she had shown nothing but kindness. Angrboda had no idea how generous and understanding Freya was towards her. Where Sif would spend the rest of her immortality consumed by jealousy, Angrboda would never experience the feeling, since she’d sacrifice anything including herself to make Loki happy.
October 30, 2025 at 10:03 AM