SamSuka
Jess D. Astra

Jess D. Astra

patreon


Jess D. Astra activity

Thirsty Thursday Thoughts

Heeeeeey my dudes! Can you tell I'm excited about this one? I'm just drinking water though... maybe I should get something fancy to celebrate.

Bastion

Book 1, Foundations, has been showered with good praise and better criticism. I love it. There's not much more than a...

View Post

Bastion 2 - Chapter 38

We crossed the kingdom barrier and Mae’s arrow held steady to the northwest. We were certainly headed toward outer-cities. I alternated between pacing from the back of the small room, near the cramped Woong-ji, and the steering column. Finally, Hana pulled me aside and I sat against the wall on...

View Post

Bastion 2 - Chapter 37

We waited in Min-hwan’s office for a few tense moments. When the door opened, a tall girl with muscles that dwarfed mine stepped through the door. She had to have been at least two and a half meters tall, and half as wide. She was an incredible feat of ridiculous training.

She smirked, th...

View Post

Bastion 2 - Chapter 36

“What can I do?” I yelled as I pinned Cho’s body to keep him from flailing out of bed.

“I don’t know,” Mae said with dread. “If you send ma through him, I can assess him like I had your mother, but that will take time!”

We didn’t have time, but we didn’t have anoth...

View Post

Bastion 2 - Chapter 35

Cho was in a cold sweat by the time we reached the lodge, but Mae confirmed there was nothing wrong with him outside of his anxiety. Hana and I both worked some zo calm on him, and in a few moments, he was asleep in his bed.

Ko-nah wasn’t in the room, but it appeared all his stuff was sti...

View Post

Bastion 2 - Chapter 34

I looked between Ko-nah and the female exchange student with an apologetic smile that belied my suspicion. “Sorry about that. I should watch where I’m going.”

The exchange student turned up her nose, speaking a language I didn’t understand. Ko-nah replied in her native tongue, then ...

View Post

Thirsty Thursday Thoughts

I ALMOST FORGOT! But I didn't, because you guys matter to me and keeping you informed is important. <3

Bastion Academy

Book 3 - Subterfuge is underway! It's flowing pretty well right now but I've got a fair number of placeholders already popping up...

View Post

Bastion 2 - Chapter 33

We made it back to Bastion with minutes to spare before the first class, Zo Strengthening II. Cho had packed a portion of breakfast that we hurriedly scarfed down before making it out to the training field.

My stomach turned uneasily as we ran our laps. The muscles in my legs burne...

View Post

Bastion 2 - Chapter 32

Hana stopped at the last corner before the docks and pulled me through a dark, fish-rank alley for a ry glimmer. We were running out of time, but due to my rampant “if terrors” I was grateful for the protection. She adjusted our age, facial features, and hair color before we strode out toward...

View Post

Bastion Academy 2 - Cover Sneak Peek!

YAAAAASSSS! That's all I have to say about this. So, so, so excited. The artist came up with a lot of great sketches for this one, but I'm so glad we went with this pose!

Let me know what you think!

View Post

Bastion 2 - Chapter 31

I looked around the room for the first time, noticing crates stacked up against the wall with the same crescent moon and sword emblem on the side. If they’re moving the shipment through this facility, this appeared to be a storeroom. Not good.

I made my way to the edge of the wall and sco...

View Post

Bastion 2 - Chapter 30

“This is the craziest, smartest stupid plan ever,” Mae said, her voice strained with worry as I paddled Tuko’s many legs through the water.

With Woong-ji’s help, we had crafted a buoyant outer shell with wide, paddle legs that Tuko’s spidery limbs would slip into. It had taken me ...

View Post

Bastion 2 - Chapter 29

Wansil Wong refused to pay for our rickshaws back to Bastion, and all I could afford was to get back to the festival. It was a convenient excuse for us to lose Ko-nah, who didn’t want to ride public transport—faster or no—back to school. I nodded to Ko-nah and told him I understood...

View Post

Bastion 2 - Chapter 28

Water lapped gently against the sturdy dock as we made our way down to the massive structure. The details of the dojang revealed themselves the closer we drew. There were twin, winged salamanders on each of the massive doors, and they were painted—recently—with gold and silver respectively. T...

View Post

Bastion 2 - Chapter 27

Wansil Marina had a personal rickshaw and ordered two more for all of us to travel comfortably. The streets at this end of the kingdom were all clean. The shops were orderly and neat. There were no gamblers, or obvious escorts, and no street food. The bay was used for personal water-craf...

View Post

Bastion 2 - Chapter 26

In what felt like no time at all, I found myself packing my backpack for the winter festival. Resting had been exactly what I needed to get my head back on straight, though I was feeling the guilt of it frequently. I had let my mind relax, ignoring urgent thoughts of the signal, and everything el...

View Post

The Academy is in session!

Bastion Academy book 1 is live for the whole world to see... AHHH!!!!!!!!

I'm just beyond grateful that this is my profession. I get to write books and that's how I pay my bills (most of them ;P). Getting here has been an amazing journey and I've had so much help along the ...

View Post

Bastion 2 - Chapter 25

Before the instructor could declare the challenge, Shin-soo cast a purple ry silence around himself and Hana. The group gasped and it took all my effort to stay in place. I knew the spell couldn’t hurt her, but my reaction was nearly beyond my control.  What was he saying?

The red-ro...

View Post

Thirsty Thursday Thoughts

Henlo friends, and happy holidays.

Not much to update on since the last thirsty thursday. I'm drinking Pedialyte this time.... pedialyte... the stuff for babies. Only a few words have inked out since the last update as well.

Bastion

The only Bastion news is that...

View Post

Bastion 2 - Chapter 24

Sung-ki placed the tray on Hana’s desk then returned to the storeroom for his trusty wheeled cart loaded with similar trays. He moved through the class, placing trays on each student’s desk as he said, “Step one will be to identify all your extracts. Write them down and label your vials. Yo...

View Post

Bastion 2 - Chapter 23

Tuko swung down from the ledge and my stomach turned with the artificial sense of gravity leaving my body. My hands clamped down on my legs and Tuko-vision blotted out as I lost control.

Shipuh!” I shouted, then bit my tongue. I breathed deep through my nose and closed my eyes...

View Post

Bastion 2 - Chapter 22

“Are you ready?” I asked Mae.

“As I’ll ever be. I hope this works,” she said with less confidence than I wanted to hear.

I’d trained for a whole week increasing my range with Tuko, and I was confident that we’d make it there and back.

I blew all the air fr...

View Post

Bastion 2 - Chapter 21

Shaking Ko-nah had been more difficult than I thought, and I hadn’t managed it.

I hadn’t managed it for two straight weeks. He was always there. He woke up at the same time as me, followed me between classes, ate next to me, showered too close for comfort, and trained just as o...

View Post

Bastion 2 - Chapter 20

Like many times before, I had been so wrong. Morning came and I felt as though I’d fallen out of a twenty-meter tall tree—three-hundred times over. I couldn’t even get out of bed for the first hour. I filled Hana in on the details of the day before—my mother’s assessment and the signal...

View Post

Thirsty Thursday Thoughts

Henlo dudes. Tonight I'm drinking Theraflu... but that isn't stopping me from cranking the words!

All Things Bastion

Book 1 release is so close I can almost taste the celebration sushi... or maybe pad thai? Hmm or perhaps dim sum... I can't decide! I guess it'll all d...

View Post

Bastion 2 - Chapter 19

I put my hands up in the Wing Chun form, ready to deflect and redirect his powerful blows. He put his fists up in a brawler pose and took two steps closer. I backed away, circling left as he swung in recklessly. I slapped back one fist, dodged, then countered his low kick with my foot, pushing th...

View Post

Bastion 2 - Chapter 18

“Who will officiate the duel?” Tae-do roared to the emptying room and all eyes fell on us.

Tae-do twisted his neck to each side, popping it with loud snaps. He flexed and the air around him trembled as waves of zo radiated off his skin. Black veins bulged in his neck, and the color in h...

View Post

Bastion 2 - Chapter 17

The journey back to Pi-Ki was fast, and quiet. It wasn’t until I boarded the train that Mae spoke up. I was too occupied with my anger for mother to concentrate on anything she had to say, anyway. I appreciated her giving me the space.

When I took my seat and leaned back, her voice filled...

View Post

Bastion 2 - Chapter 16

We ate the meal in silence, something I was becoming less accustomed to since attending Bastion. Eun-bi glared daggers at me every few bites and Daegon shifted uncomfortably beside me when she did. All the food was delicious, but despite my hunger, I couldn’t eat much. Hana’s words on the tra...

View Post

Bastion 2 - Chapter 15

As the third week came to a close, I was weary, yet excited for the day ahead. Meditation always came with wiggling, humming, sighing, and complaining from Ko-nah, which was not my preferred way to begin any day. The excitement was because Mae had repaired enough of the second device that she had...

View Post