Books
Clinical Social Worker Nohemi Castorena Publishes Devotional Book for Readers in ‘Seasons of Hardship’
Balle Balle Radio™ Entertainment Desk
Nohemi Castorena, a clinical social worker and mental health clinician, has released a new devotional book, "God, I’m Tired. God, I’m Sad. God, I’m Broken.: A Journey of Healing, Hope, Faith, and Many Coffee Cups," published through Christian Faith Publishing.
The book is aimed at readers moving through grief, exhaustion, or periods of doubt, pairing reflections on Scripture with what the publisher describes as honest language about suffering. According to the book’s description, it’s written for "the one who has cried in secret, doubted in silence, and still dares to hope" — material framed less as theological argument than as companionship for difficult stretches of life.
Castorena’s background is in direct clinical work with children, teens, and adults, according to the announcement, which the publisher says shapes the book’s approach: faith understood not through perfection but through showing up with questions, tears, and coffee—exactly as you are. Castorena explained her vision in the publisher’s announcement: "My deepest desire is to meet people exactly where they are", describing the book as an attempt to write "something that felt like sitting with a trusted friend who understands."
The book draws on biblical stories as reference points for readers’ own struggles, according to its publisher description, and is categorized under family and relationships. It’s available through Christian Faith Publishing’s website, as well as Amazon, Apple Books, Google Play, and Barnes & Noble.
Studio CarryOnHarry sees this as part of a steady stream of faith-based self-help titles written by practitioners rather than theologians — a trend worth watching as more clinicians bring their professional training directly into devotional publishing.
Read more People’s Choice stories on Studio CarryOnHarry. Reporting via Live News Vault.
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Balle Balle Radio™ Entertainment Desk
Wayne Clarke has released "The Knicks 4:1: You Can Overcome Your ‘Giants’," a 102-page paperback that uses basketball as a framework for a faith-centered message about perseverance through hardship. The book came out in July 2026 and is available on Amazon.
Clarke, who has also been identified in other public appearances as a pastor, builds the book around the idea that setbacks in a basketball series mirror setbacks in life, and that both can be overcome with the right mindset and, in his framing, with faith. The title nods to a come-from-behind playoff scenario, paired with the New Testament verse Philippians 4:13, which Clarke calls the "4:1 Principle."
The book draws on Clarke’s own history: he has described leaving Jamaica for a new country with less than £200, and he uses that experience as the throughline connecting basketball’s underdog storylines to readers’ financial pressure, career setbacks, or self-doubt. According to the announcement, the book’s core message is accessible to non-sports enthusiasts, with athletics serving primarily as a metaphorical device.
Beyond the 4:1 Principle, the book lays out several other named concepts: the "Brunson Principle," built around sacrifice and servant leadership; "Grind as Grace," which frames hard seasons as preparation rather than punishment; a "God-Facing SWOT" that adapts the standard strengths/weaknesses/opportunities/threats business tool into a spiritual self-assessment; and a "Seven Personal Conditions" framework Clarke describes as a practical guide to building faith and discipline.
In promotional materials, Clarke stated that present conditions should not define one’s ultimate trajectory, adding that readers are "wired for greatness" regardless of long odds. He also said early reviews indicate readers are being "blessed, challenged, and motivated."
Studio CarryOnHarry sees this as part of a steady stream of faith-based self-help titles using sports as an entry point for readers who might not pick up a straightforward devotional — worth watching whether the basketball framing broadens the book’s audience beyond Clarke’s existing congregation and following.
Read more People’s Choice stories on Studio CarryOnHarry. Reporting via Live News Vault.
Are you an author with a new release? We’re always looking for books to cover and authors to interview — tell us about yours here.
Press Releases at Studio CarryOnHarry
This story was drafted with AI assistance and reviewed and approved by the editor before publication. Learn how we use AI.
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Books
Author David Raine Launches ‘Space Junker,’ Pairs It With an AI That Writes Its Own Side Stories
Balle Balle Radio™ Entertainment Desk
David Raine has published "Space Junker," the first novel in a new science-fiction series, and launched an accompanying experiment in which an AI system writes its own stories set inside the same fictional world.
The novel, released October 2 in paperback and Kindle formats, opens in a drought-stricken farming town in 22nd-century Illinois and expands into a fractured America shaped by water scarcity, political fragmentation and salvaged technology, according to the announcement. At the center of the story is a character named Kyte Jacobs, alongside a cast that includes Bob, a 68-year-old, 420-pound industrial robot sustained by decades of repairs and modifications. The publisher’s materials describe the tone as fast-paced adventure with action and humor, pointing to a mix of survival story and science-fiction satire.
Raine is an author, technologist and longtime software developer whose background spans data systems, artificial intelligence and robotics, according to the announcement, and that experience shapes a world where aging machines and resource scarcity function as everyday realities rather than futuristic set dressing. Orbital debris also plays into the setting; real-world space debris includes defunct satellites, fragments from collisions and material from disintegrated rocket bodies, a hazard that has become a growing concern for spacecraft in Earth orbit.
Alongside the book, Raine is developing an AI system called MIM, which the announcement says is beginning to write original side stories within the Space Junker universe, following characters such as transit workers and settlers whose lives only occasionally intersect with the main plot. These stories are identified as AI-authored and human-edited, and the announcement states that MIM cannot alter established book canon without Raine’s approval. The novels themselves remain entirely human-written.
The first MIM story follows a transit attendant named Tim, living in 2180, who inspects the autonomous bus he works on and keeps a pet lizard named Sally at his side during his route. According to the announcement, MIM’s first attempt at this story was rejected for failing to meaningfully engage with the fictional world, reading instead like a present-day story with science-fiction details layered on top. The project says it responded by introducing new evaluation standards around world dependence, character continuity and lasting consequences, and that later work is being judged against those standards.
Raine positions the experiment not as proof that AI can generate stories, but as an inquiry into whether experience can help it become a better author over time over repeated attempts, carrying lessons from one piece into the next.
Studio CarryOnHarry will be watching whether MIM’s later stories actually show the kind of continuity and improvement the project is promising, rather than just more of the same kind of generated prose dressed up in a different setting.
Read more People’s Choice stories on Studio CarryOnHarry. Reporting via Live News Vault.
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