Tina Glasneck, USA Today Bestselling Author

Norse mythology

The Binding of Rán

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You knew I couldn’t resist writing a story to go along with The Orc King for our Kickstarter campaign, right?

Well, if you bet I would write something, you’re correct! I’m happy to share that with The Orc King funding, we’re now in our stretch goals, and this includes a prequel action adventure short story. 

The Binding of Rán is a thrilling prequel short story to The Orc King’s one-shot fantasy adventure that will take you on a journey of discovery, danger, and magic. 

A man without a past must fight for the present.

As Tyrell sets sail for the fabled Elven island of Aewea, he quickly discovers that danger lurks around every corner. The island is under attack by the fearsome Norse sea goddess, Rán, who is on a mission to find more magical men to sacrifice to her or unleash her wrath upon the island.

But Tyrell is not alone in his quest. A brave princess and her trusty dwarf mentor have uncovered a way to stop the madness and save the island from certain doom. And when they invite Tyrell to join them on their quest, he knows he must accept if he hopes to survive.

With time running out and the stakes higher than ever, Tyrell must summon all of his courage and cunning to help defeat the mighty goddess and help save the people of Aewea.

Once we hit our stretch goal, everyone who has bid on the campaign will receive this story as a thank you for your support! Yay!

Learn more and back the campaign here.

Audiobooks bring accessibility

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Making books accessible has been on my mind, and with so many different formats – ebooks, print, and audiobooks, I knew something had to change…

and I’m so happy finally to share the great news!!!

This month, I’ve been thinking about accessibility, especially when we feel so alone and have so many things happening.

Image of woman with headphones
Audiobooks provide inclusion and are a new way to read my books!


So, after much thought and figuring out the how, I came up with my solution: Audiobooks.

Not just one audiobook, but getting them all done so that people can read with print, ebook, or even listening. 

It will allow you to journey with me whenever and wherever you are. 

So, with that in mind, I’ve uploaded the first full audiobook on Youtube to give readers a chance to enter this magnificent world.

I have several available for sale- both with human narration and those created with AI. The AI is very well done for google, and I think it will be a game changer in accessibility and inclusiveness.

And to get you started, I’m offering the first one, Hellbent, for free on Youtube for August! I love how AI-generated storytelling has improved over the years, too.

Hellbent is a Norse-mythology inspired fantasy.

What happens when Thor, the Norse god of Thunder, pulls me out of my mundane life by claiming me as the Chosen One? Find out in Hellbent!

Listen to Hellbent on Youtube for FREE!

View the audiobooks page to see which audiobooks are now available for your reading pleasure!

It’s Official!

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It’s official! We're off to the Moon!

I'm number 54 on the manifest and am sending my catalog of books off to the Moon. My books will join the Astrobotic’s Peregrine Mission 1 as part of the Writers on the Moon project led by Dr. Susan Kaye Quinn. 

Set to launch July 2021, the payload will be delivered to Lacus Mortis, on the Moon, for future anthropologists and generations.

With more than twenty titles, my portion of the payload will include my Norse mythology-inspired fantasy novels, which I hope will serve as a beacon of hope. Think about it! Future space travelers will discover the lunar time capsule and learn about our culture and world through the items we’ve left behind just like we’ve learned about the Norse, Egyptian and Greek cultures before us.

With the rise of Norse mythology in pop culture, I also see this trip to the Moon as a step in the right direction, which I’m ecstatic to be a part of.

But Tina, you write fantasy. Why are you sending stuff to the moon?

The connection between the Moon and my work is made through Norse mythology and cosmology. In Norse mythology, the Moon is vaguely personified, with children named after the heavenly bodies of the Moon and Sun, whom two great wolves chase across the sky. But even more, with the creation of the worlds, and Norse cosmology, there is still that connection to space.

I’m even considering using this experience as a plot point in the next Leslie book, Four Times the Fight. There is something to be said about writing about your life and coming up with

Did you know that the Norse believed the Milky Way was the World Tree?

I see this as an excellent chance for those who love fantasy to again connect with the magic of old, as inspired by the majestic Moon.

In mythology and many pagan practices, the Moon is magical and a perfect inspiration for fantasy stories, like what I write, as well.

The one-hundred twenty-five participating authors are including art, music, single-titled novels, whole collections of series, and anthologies in the lunar time capsule. Some are even including reader stowaways.

This week, I will be contacting the stowaways in my payload. 

You, my readers have helped me to achieve so much. I’m happy some of you along with me with my work to the Moon. They will be listed as a part of my manifest on my website and in the uploaded files.

Why did you want to participate in the Writers on the Moon project?

To be Frank, it’s not just about me. It’s also something for my children. I want to show them that you can shoot for the Moon, and indeed land on it.

I'll be sharing about the process the more we move ahead!

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Idunn’s Apples + Recipe

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Idunn is a goddess of rejuvenation, who passed out fruit to the gods to help them remain youthful. Although not much is mentioned of her, she had an important role to play. The fruit she carried was not necessarily apples, but whatever it was, it gave those that ate it youth, beauty, and vitality.

There is one popular myth that remains about her, The Kidnapping of Idunn.

As it goes, Odin, Loki, and Hoenir were traveling and got hungry. They saw a herd of oxen and slaughtered one for dinner.

The ox would not cook no matter how long they held it over the open flame. An eagle seated on a branch in the tree overlooking them, and said, “Well if you will let me  eat until I am full, I will let your food cook.” You see, he was using magic to make it that the ox wouldn’t cook.

The gods, hungry, were like, okay, cool. We’re hungry after all.

Well, the eagle flew down and grabbed the best piece.

Loki wasn’t having it. The eagle said he wanted to eat, not necessarily the best piece, so Loki takes up a branch and swings it at him.

The eagle grabbed the branch, and with Loki still hanging on, he flew up high into the sky.

Loki was now terrified and begged the eagle to let him down.

Well, the eagle wasn’t going to miss out on a chance to get something or rather someone that he wanted.

At first, Loki refused the eagle’s request, but the eagle would not bring him down until Loki conceded, which he did.

The eagle wasn’t normal, but Thjazi, a jotun, in disguise.

The oath he procured from Loki was for Loki to bring him Idunn and her fruits.

Loki oathbound headed back to Asgard with Odin and Hoenir. He lies telling her that he found some fruit even more marvelous than what she’s growing just outside of the walls, and tells her to bring her fruit for comparison. Idunn follows Loki out, with her basket.

When Idunn enters the woods, she is then snatched up by Thjazi, in eagle form, and taken away to his home in the mountains.

Well, Idunn must be gone for a bit of time as the gods start to age—they can feel age creeping upon them. Their skin wrinkles, their hair turns gray.

Finally, assembling, the gods ask about Idunn and her absence. It comes out that she was last seen with Loki.

They track down Loki, seize him, and threaten him if he doesn’t tell them what happened to Idunn.

Loki finally tells them that Thjazi took Idunn.

His honesty was met with a threat of its own, though: if he didn’t bring back Idunn he would be put to death.

To assist him in getting Idunn back, he borrowed Freyja’s hawk feather cape, which allowed him to change into a hawk, and flew off to Thjazi’s home. When he arrived, he found that Thjazi was away fishing.

Loki then turned Idunn into a nut and sped away with her, carrying her in his hawk talons.

When Thjazi returned, he found Idunn missing, and changed back into his eagle form. He took to the air in the direction of Asgard and saw Loki. Now he was in hot pursuit.

Then gods, also keeping an eye out for Loki, saw Thjazi flying behind him. They set to build a fire. Loki made it across, and then the gods set the kindling alight creating an explosive fire.

It happened so fast, and Thjazi was so hot on Loki’s tail that he didn’t have time to slow down, and instead entered the flames.

That was the end of Thjazi, and Idunn was once again home to make the gods young again.

So, what is this moral of this story? Don’t take time to rejuvenate for granted, maybe? Maybe it is about the power of the oath and what it meant back then to give your word? Just maybe, it is that when we harm, we should also do all that we can to make it right?

Download the Recipe as a PDF Here!