Unsolicited Press Launches “The Guide to Being a Dictator’s Mistress” by Cedrick Mendoza-Tolentino, a Book That Digs Into the Familiar and Unfamiliar in New Ways
Portland, OR, August 31, 2022 –(CarryOnHarry.com)– The stories in The Guide to Being a Dictator’s Mistress are meant to capture a reader’s imagination and take the familiar, and unfamiliar, and provide for an enjoyable reading experience. In the title story and the companion story The Guide to Being a Dictator’s Body Double, characters who are caught in the orbit of those ruling with an iron fist have to find ways to survive. In In Character, a man finds himself in trouble after trying to translate the Batman we all know from the comic books and the movies to real life. And in the last story Alphabetica: The Other Side of Love, the slow disintegration of a marriage is laid bare as a couple comes to the realization that getting married was the easy part. As a range of normal, and somewhat normal, characters navigate familiar worlds, often with a slight twist, the stories aim to engage the full range of human emotion in a thought provoking, and unique, fashion.
About Cedrick Mendoza-Tolentino Cedrick Mendoza-Tolentino was a 2014 Emerging Writer’s Fellow at the Center for Fiction in New York City. He graduated with honors in the Undergraduate Creative Writing Program at Columbia University. He has had work published in Liars’ League New York, Akashic – Mondays are Murder, Gargoyle Magazine, Joyland, Slow Trains and Plain Spoke. His chapbook Alphabetica: The Other Side of Love was published by Corgi Snorkel Press.
About Unsolicited Press Unsolicited Press, based out of Portland, Oregon, strives to produce exceptional works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from award-winning and emerging authors such as Shann Ray, Amy Shimshon-Santo, Brook Bhagat, Kris Amos, and John W. Bateman. We believe in championing the books of the unsung and underrepresented. As a womxn-owned, all-volunteer small publisher, we focus on exceptional writing, not profits. We have the privilege of partnering with authors skirting the fringes of the lit world.
The Guide to Being a Dictator’s Mistress is available as a paperback (178 p.; 978-1-956692-22-8) and e-book (all major retailers). The title is distributed to the trade by Ingram. The author is open to speaking with the media, holding readings, and engaging in other author opportunities.
Author James Boudon’s New Book, “Calvary: The Eternity Eclipse,” Introduces Julia Percy, the Leader of Calvary, as She Fights to Escape Her Captors and Save Humanity
Port Allegany, PA, October 30, 2025 –(CarryOnHarry.com)– James Boudon, a graduate of the University of Rochester with a degree in English, has completed his new book, “Calvary: The Eternity Eclipse”: an enthralling novel that follows Percy as she discovers a nefarious scheme after she and three of her teammates have been abducted by these same rebels while returning from a three-month sabbatical on the distant planet Illyria. Percy herself is subsequently disabled and transformed into a human robot subservient to every whim of her archnemesis, Joshua Winston, who is the leader of the rebels. Meanwhile, the other members of Calvary still on Earth face their own problems as their headquarters is attacked by an advance group of the Gehadeans who seek to sideline the team from averting the impending apocalypse.
Author James Boudon began dabbling at writing short stories in the fourth grade and moved on to creating a comic book called “Rabbitman” during high school and a “Star Trek” novella during college. He has also written numerous poems and song lyrics. He currently works as a rural mail carrier for the US Postal Service and spends his spare time enjoying golf, hiking, and other outdoor activities when he is not writing. He lives in the beautiful hills and countryside of north central Pennsylvania in a rather remote area where the wildlife outnumbers the people.
Boudon writes, “Julia Kristina Percy sighed as a cool breeze from the oscillating floor fan wafted across her scantily clad sculpted physique. Simultaneously upon the memory-sphere player, Impala Quiff, ‘IQ,’ launched into a squealing high-octane guitar solo. Percy moaned contentedly and closed her eyes as the familiar rock ballad evoked a myriad of all-but-forgotten nostalgia. She was reclining on a lounge chair in the living space of her hotel suite. She had just returned from a vigorous workout in the resort’s large pool and was still clad solely in her olive-green bikini. Lead vocalist Nigel Jape resumed crooning the tune’s lyrics in his scintillating and dulcet tones.”
Published by Page Publishing, James Boudon’s memorable tale invites readers to discover whether Percy will be able to return to her home world ahead of the Bellerophon. Otherwise, all life on the planet will be incinerated, and humanity itself will be erased from existence within the universe.
Readers who wish to experience this engrossing work can purchase “Calvary: The Eternity Eclipse” at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.
For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.
About Page Publishing:
Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors’ books, including distribution in the world’s largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Page’s accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at www.pagepublishing.com.
Las Vegas, NV, October 21, 2025 –(CarryOnHarry.com)– Oscar nominated actor Mickey Rourke is still a challenge to work with on a movie set. 17 years after his Golden Globe winning performance in The Wrestler, the actor is still doing things his way.
Speaking to CYInterview, Mickey Rourke’s costar in the upcoming film, Devil’s Play, Gary Stretch, who is also one of the film’s producers and has a history with Mickey, said the actor completely changed the character he was supposed to play in the movie:
“The role was a great role and Mickey changed it a lot. And it was based on a true guy and there were some brilliant scenes in the movie that Mickey just erased and did his own thing, which in some ways I was mad about because it was so brilliantly written, the role. And then in other ways, I’m happy that Mickey did Mickey because he did a great job. But he completely changed it and, but it worked.”
Gary Stretch, a former boxing champion/actor/filmmaker, is among other things, known for the 2019 documentary film he directed on former UFC superstar Ronda Rousey, Through My Father’s Eyes. Mr. Stretch said Rourke’s role in Devil’s Play is his best work recently, but also noted that the actor had a couple of meltdowns while filming Devil’s Play:
“I think it’s the best I’ve seen Mickey in a while because he’s very real in the film. You know, he had a bit of a meltdown on the set a few times and he was a challenge, but, he, what I will say, is you know, Mickey has a lot of, a bad reputation. He worked really hard. He did his job really well and the only thing, it, was not 100 percent was that he completely changed the role, and so, but we trusted that he’s a great actor and we went with it and we made it work, so, it was great to work with him.”
Mr. Stretch, a powerhouse actor in his own right, is known for brilliant performances in Oliver Stone’s Alexander and the Shane Meadows film Deadman Shoes. He was joined for this CYInterview with his Devil’s Play co-star, Bulgarian acting superstar Dessy Tenekedjieva. You can watch him commenting on Mickey Rourke, starting at minute 17 of the video below:
The director Ben Charles Edwards, also stated that Mickey Rourke described his role in the Devil’s Play as “One of my most meaningful performances in the past two decades.”
Devil’s Play is slated for worldwide distribution by Buffalo 8 on December 19, via Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play and Verizon Fios/Vubiquity. It will be available via a pre-sales launch on Apple on December 5th.
Produced by Dessy Tenekedjieva of Black Sea Film and Nova Film the movie was shot across Bulgaria, Los Angeles, and London. It featured cinematography from Dennis Madden (Savage Flowers) who delivers masterful visual storytelling.
Learn more about the film here: www.devilsplaymovie.com
