Flight & Anchor: A Firebreak Story

“Set several years before Firebreak (2021), Kornher-Stace’s newest Firebreak tale follows operatives 06 and 22 as 12-year-olds who have escaped from the Stellaxis headquarters, where they have lived and trained since they were orphaned 4 years earlier in the corporate civil war. Besides discovering that they are woefully unprepared for living on their own as they hide in an abandoned shipping container mere blocks from their home, they also learn of the operatives’ merchandise generated by Stellaxis’ marketing department. Not only are their own statistics blatantly exaggerated, they are also described as artificial humans made to be perfect weapons, which is outrageous given their vague memories of childhood before being ‘rescued’ by Stellaxis. Relying on dumpster diving, selling recycled cans, and some charity, they struggle to feed themselves while the Director, hiding their escape from the company to protect her job, sabotages their lives with nanobots. This distressing yet delightful prequel explains the history between 06 and 22, cementing the reasoning behind their actions in Firebreak and expanding readers’ understanding of the dystopian, corporate-owned world Kornher-Stace has created.”
—Booklist

“In the future, the U.S. has been replaced by two corporations, one of which is Stellaxis, which kidnaps and makes children into supersoldiers. This prequel to Firebreak presents a compelling, heartbreaking origin story for 06 and 22, two of the orphaned, brainwashed, child-soldier superheroes whose plight became the cause célèbre that finally opened a chink in Stellaxis’s carefully constructed, spin-doctored armor. The always rebellious 06 and her stalwart follower 22 run away from their corporate overseers and attempt to blend into the population. It’s a dream that is doomed to fail, but the children are too young to realize it and too selfless to leave each other behind—to a terrible cost, now and in the years to come. Readers who loved Firebreak are going to fall hard for this story, as it adds layers to the buckets of heartbreak, and tears to the already poignant ending of their saga. VERDICT: A terrific entry point into this compelling, corrupt, dystopian world, with a story about the forging of unbreakable bonds set against harrowing adventure, heartrending choices, and traumatic consequences.”
—Library Journal

“Flight & Anchor is a stunning achievement, one that hauls on the heartstrings as it tickles the brain with the effervescent prose of a Beat master, sure to bust through even the toughest reading slump—though I definitely expect no less from this must-buy author.”
—Maria Dong, author of Liar, Dreamer, Thief

 “Cyborg Boxcar Children vs. the nanomachines, only make it a character study in possibility, heartache, sacrifice, and friendship. Wonderful.”
—Max Gladstone, author of Last Exit

“Flight & Anchor: what a feat of adrenaline, friendship, loyalty, fraught circumstance, and fun! Nicole Kornher-Stace deftly—exquisitely—balances the lightness of classic runaway-child books (Boxcar Children! From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler!) with the savagery of survival-in-the-wilderness books (Hatchet! Robinson Crusoe!) to entertaining and harrowing effect. This is a great gateway into the NK-Sverse for the first-time reader (warning: it will make you want to pick up Jillian Vs Parasite Planet—like, now—to get more of a certain nanorobotic AI ‘probe array’ character, who is just the best), and will also be an absolute delight to avid, rabid fans.”
—C. S. E. Cooney, author of Saint Death’s Daughter

“Kornher-Stace finds a perfect balance between human childhood and otherworldliness by making us fall for the myth and propaganda surrounding 06 and 22 while also making them deeply human, if only deep down. A burning ember of humanity in the midst of overwhelming propaganda.”
—Bookish Brew’s Reviews

“Nicole Kornher-Stace’s Flight & Anchor pulls you along with the speed of a dystopian freight train. Taking the weaponized childhoods of kids like Ender and blending in a touch of Hanna-style rebellion against the mother organization, Kornher-Stace draws you into a story not only of survival but of calculated surrender to drive the best possible outcome. Flight & Anchor gives us kids who, despite their superpowers and their upbringing’s best efforts, are still believably constrained by their inexperience.  Kornher-Stage continues to be an author to watch, and this latest work is a solid addition.“
—Kimberly Unger, author of Nucleation

“The classic scenario of The Boxcar Children gets a cybernetic anti-corporate upgrade in Nicole Kornher-Stace’s Flight & Anchor. We join twelve-year old super-soldier operatives and inseparable BFFs 06 and 22, years before they’ll inspire a people’s rebellion in Firebreak, centuries before their exploits will influence the post-apocalyptic Archivist Wasp. On the lam from the cruel program that created them, they’re capable of astonishing feats of heroism and destruction, but they’re also lost kids who only have each other to rely on. Kornher-Stace’s nail-biting novella, full of Easter eggs for fans of her expanding universe, keeps us grounded in stakes that are both world-shattering and movingly human.”
—Mike Allen, Shirley Jackson Award-nominated author of Aftermath of an Industrial Accident

5/5 stars “Overall, Flight & Anchor is a great addition to the Firebreak universe. If you loved the first novel like I did, you will surely love this one as well. But if this is your first story into the universe, get ready for a quick adventure.”
—Enthralled Bookworm

5/5 stars. “This novella does a lot of unexpected heavy lifting for the backstories of 06 and 22 (as seen in Nicole’s other works such as Firebreak) and I'll just say it now: it was a delight.”
—Bradley Horner’s Book Reviews

“I’d recommend Flight & Anchor if you like Stranger Things, dystopian world-building, human modification.”
—Potions and Puzzles

Praise for Firebreak

“Firebreak is a simmering scream, a pot bucking on a stove after all the water’s boiled away. It’s a fight song in praise of fierce friendship and the strength to endure.”
—Amal El-Mohtar, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning co-author of This is How You Lose the Time War

“Firebreak is a klaxon sounding at midnight. It is a howl and a wake-up call. It is a fire that does what literary fires do best: spits rage, radiates the warmth of compassion, and fans the flame of revolution.”
—C. S. E. Cooney, World Fantasy Award-winning author of Bone Swans: Stories

“A steadfast heroine stands up against a tyrannical corporation in this vivid work of dystopian sci-fi. . . . The effortlessly detailed worldbuilding is captivating. Kornher-Stace leads readers through the cinematic landscape of her imagined future with an expert hand.”
—Publishers Weekly

• Promotion targeting general and science fiction online media, including reviews and interviews to include NPR, the New York Times, Washington Post, New York Review of Science Fiction, Chicago Tribune and the San Francisco Chronicle
  
• Planned book giveaways on Goodreads, SF Signal, and other online outlets
  
• Cover reveal and book launch event
  
• Print and digital ARC distribution via Goodreads, NetGalley, and Edelweiss+
• Instagram and blog tour, Reddit AMA, and social media campaign by the publisher and author