Episode list

For the inaugural episode of Excelsior Journeys, host George Sirois sits down for a lengthy discussion with Douglas Rousar, a multi-award-winning West Coast Swing dancer, instructor, event director, and founder of the Global Online Open. They talk about how each of them found and fell in love with the dance, how Doug rose from the novice ranks to becoming an instructor for many others, his experiences with directing various events, and the journey that led him to creating the Global Online Open.

For Episode 2 of Excelsior Journeys, host George Sirois welcomes voiceover actor, sports announcer, and founder of Linacre Media, Mark Fratto. They talk about how Mark began his path way back in St. Mary's Catholic School, acting as a media director in college, and working all the way up to standing in the middle of a boxing ring for HBO Sports in the World's Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden.

For Episode 3 of Excelsior Journeys, host George Sirois took some time from his weekend at the authors and readers convention Penned Con to chat with USA Today Bestselling Authors Michelle Lynn and Michelle Bryan. They talk about how the two authors found each other through the muck of negativity known as Goodreads and how they made the decision to collaborate on a story which would reach the USA Today bestselling charts, as well as their team of readers, editors, and cover artists that helped make their success possible.

For Episode 4 of Excelsior Journeys, host George Sirois welcomes actress / writer / director / producer / yoga instructor Kristina Erikson. They talk about their time together at Marymount Manhattan College, Kristina continuing on her journey as an actress after graduation, how yoga played a major role in regaining the confidence in herself, how the highs and lows in her life prompted her to create her short film Evolved, and more.

For Episode 5 of Excelsior Journeys, host George Sirois speaks with bestselling and multi-award-winning independent authors Sheri Fink and Derek Taylor Kent. This literary power couple met George in person at the 2017 Missouri Writers Guild Conference, where Sheri was the keynote speaker, and during this conversation, they talk about what led both of them to write children's books, their journeys as novelists (Sheri with "Cake in Bed" and Derek with "Kubrick's Game"), the partnership that became "Whimsical World," their thoughts on the various online book contests, and more.

For Episode 6 of Excelsior Journeys, host George Sirois presents the Prologue to the month-long NaNoWriMo miniseries, in which he will be speaking with different authors who have conquered the National Novel Writing Month challenge, which is to write a 50,000-word draft of a novel in just 30 days. George will not only share the origins of this global phenomenon; he will also talk about his own NaNoWriMo experience which ultimately led to the completion of his Young Adult / Science-Fiction novel "Excelsior," which has been launched by Aelurus Publishing in 2017.

This week on Excelsior Journeys, host George Sirois sits down with author / musician / humanitarian EC Stilson to discuss her experience with National Novel Writing Month, the various events she has hosted, causes for which she raises money, her time when she was homeless on the streets of Hawaii, the tragedy in her life that she has used to inspire others, and more.

For Episode 8 of Excelsior Journeys - presented by the Write Pack Radio Podcasting Network - host George Sirois continues National Novel Writing Month by sitting down with two-time Dragon Award nominated author RR Virdi. They discuss the inspiration that led to Virdi's successful urban fantasy series - The Grave Report - as well as his writing process, the experience of being nominated alongside Jim Butcher, his tips for up-and-coming authors, and more.

For the latest episode of Excelsior Journeys, host George Sirois takes a trip into the McHughniverse and chats with prolific award-winning author and playwright Jessica McHugh. They discuss the early stories that pushed Jess into being an author, her experiences - good and bad - with various small presses, her different genres from horror to young adult, and more.

Host George Sirois gets to enjoy this milestone by speaking with author Katherine Bogle. In addition to a healthy amount of name-dropping (Hello, Sell More Books Show!), they discuss Katherine's early fan fiction that pushed her into pursuing writing as a career, her experiences with National Novel Writing Month, the rapid release plan she put into motion to give her books the maximum exposure that resulted in a huge jumpstart in sales, and more.

For the final installment of the NaNoWriMo miniseries, host George Sirois chats with multi-award-winning and USA Today Bestselling author Amalie Jahn. They talk about her journey to write and release her YA time-travel Sci-Fi novel "The Clay Lion," introducing her stories to students, working with other authors to make their successful run at the USA Today bestselling list, and more. Amalie can be found on Twitter at @AmalieJahn, as well as other social media outlets.

For the latest episode of Excelsior Journeys, host George Sirois sits down with Rebecca Jaycox, author of the YA / Fantasy novel "The Other Inheritance" and editor-in-chief of Aelurus Publishing. In addition to sharing her personal story that led to her becoming an author and editor, Rebecca has various dos and don'ts for aspiring authors to keep in mind, she makes sure you know what to do after National Novel Writing Month is finished, and she provides plenty of reasons why she would be an ideal editor for your latest project. For more information about Rebecca's services, please look up "Rebecca Jaycox - Slayer of Adverbs" on Facebook.

On Sunday, October 14, 2018, host George Sirois moderated a panel at St. Louis' sci-fi and fantasy convention Archon 42 called "Storytelling: A Modern Take on the Oral Tradition." His fellow authors on the panel were Brad R. Cook (The Iron Chronicles), Camille Faye (Voodoo Butterfly), and Jennifer Stolzer (Thread caster, Dog Park), and they were gracious to allow the panel to be recorded. On this first of two year-end bonus episodes of Excelsior Journeys, George Sirois presents the complete panel with questions and answers from the attendees.

For the final episode of Excelsior Journeys in 2018, host George Sirois presents the audio of a panel at Archon 42 - Alternate Paths to Publishing. In addition to hearing George's story of how he went from self-publishing to working with small presses to finally getting an agent for larger projects, we will also hear from authors Debbie Manber Kupfer (P.A.W.S.), Brad R. Cook (The Iron Horseman), and Camille Faye (Voodoo Butterfly). Looking forward to hearing your suggestions and comments in 2019 and beyond.

The first 2019 episode of the Excelsior Journeys podcast presents Pastor Joe Dobbins of Twin Rivers Worship Center in St. Louis. Hear what he has to say about how we can all find our unique calling in the new year and the greatness Twin Rivers continues to achieve in the community every day.

Resolutions Month continues on Excelsior Journeys, and host George Sirois chats with fitness advocate and owner of Wristful Thinking Wristbands Brandi Stewart. They discuss how Brandi played such a big part in his life, her experiences in physical fitness, her tips for those looking to improve their health, what led her to create Wristful Thinking, and more.