On this week's episode, host and producer George Sirois sits down with producer, writer, and director Gilbert Adler. They discuss Gilbert's start as a producer for theatre, how he made the transition into movies and television, his experiences on Freddy's Nightmares that led him into developing Tales from the Crypt for HBO, working on larger big-budget movies like Constantine, Superman Returns, and Valkyrie, and much more!  Gilbert also shares his experience working with Operation Mend for UCLA. For more information on this, please visit www.uclahealth.org/operationmend Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

This week's guest is not only an accomplished actor & voice over artist, taking part in such films as In a World... and A Serious Man and contributing his voice to CBS Sports among other properties, but he was also our host's Announcing & Voice Overs teacher in college. Fred Melamed sits down with George Sirois to discuss his past, present, and future projects, including various films, brands, and animated series, and much more! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

This week, George sits down with a long-time friend from college - William DeMeritt - and hears his journey of becoming an actor, from Marymount Manhattan College to commercials to graduate school at Yale to regional theatre to acting on HBO to becoming an acclaimed and in-demand audiobook narrator, and much more! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

Host and producer George Sirois sits down with the literal author of his childhood, Flint Dille, in this very special feature-length episode. Flint shares so many great stories about how he broke into the world of animation, writing for the Mr. T animated series, working on Dungeons & Dragons, acting as story editor for G.I. Joe, writing the later drafts of Transformers: The Movie, and so much more! After listening to this episode, please get Flint's memoir The Gamesmaster, which tells his story in much greater detail and is an amazing read. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

Host & producer George Sirois sits down this week with Stephanie Hansen, founder of Metamorphosis Literary Agency. During their conversation, they talk about how Stephanie took a chance on herself to get into the literary world, learning how to become an agent, founding her own agency, bringing in other agents, and also about how Stephanie took another chance on herself by writing her own series of novellas.  Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

Host and producer George Sirois sat down for a terrific conversation with author, screenwriter, producer, public speaker, and teacher Joel Eisenberg. Enjoy their chat about how Joel fell in love with the movies with the help of Forrest Ackerman's Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, his early fan-fiction that led to his first original works, his success with networking that led to his first published book, his constant looking out for other up-and-coming writers, and much more! Expect quite a bit of name-dropping from both.  Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

Kim Hawkey is one of the reasons why this show exists in the first place. Her talent caught the attention of host & producer George Sirois while they were working together at Top of the Rock Observation Deck, and years later he knew people like Kim needed to share their story. The two get to reminisce about their time at Rockefeller Plaza, how Kim became an award-winning singer, founded the band The Swingaroos, created the upcoming Variety Show Lab, and more! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

This week, host & producer George Sirois sits down with longtime friend David Havasi, who shares his story about how his decades of dance and musical theatre culminated in performing in national tours of The Producers and Spamalot, before he transitioned into being a proud representative of Tesla Motor Company and Clean Technica.  Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

Thirteen different writers from the independent pop culture website 411Mania join host & producer (and fellow 411Mania alum) George Sirois to discuss some of their favorite memories from writing for the site, reveal what they've gone on to do because of their time as a 411Mania writer, and pay tribute to their late colleagues, Larry Csonka and Chris Hyatte.

In this very special episode of Excelsior Journeys, host and producer George Sirois sat down with Mark Coker, founder and CEO of Smashwords, one of the most valuable tools any independent author would ever need to get their books out in the widest distribution possible. They talked about Mark's thoughts on the book publishing industry, his inspiration for Smashwords, his success working with authors, his plans for the company's future, and more! (This was meant to be a two-parter, but since life has a way of getting in the way, I missed last week's post date and so here are Parts 1 & 2 combined.) Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

During a very busy weekend at PennedCon 2019, host and producer George Sirois sat down with fellow author and armed services veteran April Wood. We discussed how writing has always been a part of her life, how she has been able to produce so much work in such a limited amount of time, and more! (Apologies for the audio quality, it was a very busy night at the restaurant) Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

Collaboration is a great benefit to being part of a writing community and fellow St. Louis Writers Guild members Jennifer Stolzer and Jessica Mathews have experienced that several times already by teaming up on various children's book projects. Host and producer George Sirois had some time at Penned Con 2019 to talk about how each one got into writing, how they got involved with the SLWG, how they decided to team up, and more! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

Host and producer George Sirois took some time to sit down with bestselling and award-winning author Eric Asher about his successful transition from working a full-time job with writing on the side to being a writer full-time, achieving a dream so many want to come true for them. They also discussed Eric's journey as an author, getting his books into Audible as audiobooks, and more! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

The second season of Excelsior Journeys opens with the first of a series of interviews recorded at Penned Con 2019. Host and producer George Sirois speaks with bestselling author Amy Hale about how she got into writing, her new shared universe project, and much more! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

Host and producer George Sirois took some time this week to discuss various do's and don'ts when it comes to setting up a book signing at a bookstore.  Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

This week's guest is author Jessica McBrayer, who has five novels coming out in 2019 to go along with the 13 works she has published since 2011. She and host George Sirois chat about her experience in various genres, bringing in a virtual assistant, sticking to a 2,000-word schedule, and much more! Jessica can be found on Facebook and Instagram.  Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

After knowing her via social media for several years, Excelsior Journeys host and producer George Sirois finally gets to chat with fellow author Kendall Grey. They talk about her impressive span of over fifteen published works since 2012, her forays into various genres, her recent work with different audiobook narrators, and more! #MakeArtNotHousePayments Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

Host and producer George Sirois decided to use this episode as an AMA platform, so he put the word out on social media with an #AskMeAnything request. This week, he answers questions about building an interactive platform, jealousy among authors, and more.  Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

Host and producer George Sirois celebrates the 30th episode of Excelsior Journeys by sitting down with stand-up comic & emcee Robert Turo. They discuss how stand-up comedy is the purest form of entertainment, Robert's history on the stage dating back to 1996 when his college roommate called up Stand-Up NY and set him up with a 5-minute spot, how he made the transition from being a solo stand-up to co-hosting his own weekly show, and more! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

This week, host George Sirois sits down with one of his two literary agents: Amy Brewer of Metamorphosis Literary Agency. They discuss how she formed a partnership with fellow agent & co-author Patty Carothers on their own book "Texting Prince Charming," how they worked their way up to becoming agents with Metamorphosis, the vital role an agent plays in an author's career, and more.  George is also taking questions for Amy and Patty to answer in the near future. If you have one, please send to his email: [email protected]. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

For this very special episode, host George Sirois sits down with his friend and new business partner, co-founder of Winding Trails Media and St. Louis Writers Guild President David Alan Lucas. They talk about how David was inspired by the St. Louis writers community to chase his dream and - as part of the board of the prestigious St. Louis Writers Guild - inspire others to chase theirs. They also talk about the guild's annual conference/convention Gateway Con (which goes up on Father's Day weekend in June) and their big venture coming soon, the Winding Trails Media Podcasting Network. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

Host and producer George Sirois has a little something he needs to tell all of you, something he needed to tell himself. If you enjoy this episode and the others before it, please subscribe, rate, and review. Your feedback means the world to me... Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

Ever think about joining a writers guild? Ever wonder what guilds offer for writers? Maybe you're already part of a local chapter but you're not sure what a statewide guild can do for you or your career as a writer? Well, the two latest Presidents of the Missouri Writers Guild - current President Robin Tidwell and her predecessor, George Sirois of Excelsior Journeys - sit down to discuss all of these things and more, including Robin's experience as a writer that led her to create Rocking Horse Publishing and lend her expertise to the Missouri Writers Guild. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

For the 25th episode of Excelsior Journeys, host George Sirois takes a break from the regular format to answer a question from a listener, and share the answers to a question he offered to his previous guests.  Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

This week on Excelsior Journeys, host George Sirois welcomes award-winning playwright and long-time friend Jonathan Norton. The two talk about the Playwriting class they took together at Marymount Manhattan College, the scene Jonathan wrote that captured everyone's attention, the controversial plays he wrote while in high school that made him an award-winner, his mentors and idols, and his latest play Mississippi Goddamn, which takes place during the time of civil rights leader Medgar Evers' assassination. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

On February 13, Godwin High's beloved Drama teacher - Mac Damron - passed away over a month before a scheduled ceremony where the school's theater would be dedicated in his name. With several decades of teaching experience, Mr. Damron changed the lives of hundreds, even thousands, of students, one of which is our host, George Sirois. So George decided to reach out to his classmates from those years to see if anyone wanted to come on Excelsior Journeys to share some stories about Mr. Damron. Three classmates were able to accept: musician & animator Sruli Broocker, mother & photographer Kelly Wright Myers, and the first returning guest on Excelsior Journeys, artist & author Elizabeth Meggs. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

For this week's episode of Excelsior Journeys, host George Sirois sits down with longtime friend, director Chris Ethridge. In addition to chatting about growing up in Richmond, Virginia and dreaming of collaborating on big-budget film projects, they also discuss Chris' evolution as a filmmaker, his time creating a Stephen King "Dollar Baby," directing Tiffany Shepis and Nicholas Brendon on "Attack of the Morningside Monster," and his latest project "Haven's End," which is currently getting its share of interest from potential distributors.  Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

For the latest episode of Excelsior Journeys, host George Sirois sits down and chats with - for the first time in about 25 years - artist Elizabeth Meggs. They give a much-deserved shout-out to Mac Damron in the Drama department of Godwin High School in Richmond, VA, discuss the moment that made Elizabeth want to become an artist, putting together her first exhibit, working on both coasts in America, and much more! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

For the latest episode of Excelsior Journeys, host George Sirois began his filmmakers miniseries by talking with screenwriter, director, and film enthusiast Luke Annand. The discussion goes from the sequence that made Luke a devout cineaste, to getting involved in several projects in Canada as a production assistant, to getting his own short film off the ground, to his latest project - a full-length screenplay that will hopefully get him some much-deserved attention on the independent scene. Check out more of Luke's story by going to Instagram at @reginaroadie, and make sure you catch his podcast "Ramblings of a Guy from Regina," now available on iTunes. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

On the latest episode of Excelsior Journeys, host George Sirois sits down with Vancouver's own, artist Lisa Penz. Lisa some terrific stories about how Disney became her inspiration for teaching herself how to sketch (The Little Mermaid, to be exact), the moment when she decided to step away from graphic design and pursue her passion in painting, her first gallery opening, her ideas for a very special work-in-progress, and much more! Find Lisa on Twitter at @LisaRosaPenz and on Instagram at @LisaPenz.  Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

For this episode of Excelsior Journeys, host George Sirois sits down with Natalie Bushnell, an author, speaker, medium, transparency coach, and so much more. Natalie shares her incredible life story with us, from her days as part of a polygamist family to her decision to be a spiritual guide to help others reach their full potential. She also tells us about Soulisious and her monthly Life Made Simple boot camp. Please find more information on her website: www.soulisious.com. In addition to her words of wisdom and hope, Natalie also shares details of her abusive past that may be too intense for younger listeners. Parental discretion is advised. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

#foxrocks indeed! Host George Sirois presents a terrific conversation with LinkedIn content strategist Judi Fox, where they discuss how she decided to turn her years-long career into a prologue for the new life she would make for herself. She also puts our mind at ease about the use of LinkedIn, shares the moment when her first piece of content generated over twelve thousand views, and more! They even chat about how they both went through four years in the same high school and never had a conversation until now! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

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!  Brandi even has a very special gift just for Excelsior Journeys listeners. Find out what it is by downloading this episode. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

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. For more information, please visit https://twinrivers.church. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

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. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

On Sunday, October 14, 2018, host George Sirois moderated a panel at St. Louis' sci-fi & fantasy convention Archon 42 (www.archonstl.org) 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 (Threadcaster, 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 Q&A from the attendees. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

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 donts 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.  Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

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. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

It's Episode 10 of Excelsior Journeys, and 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!  Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

For the latest episode of Excelsior Journeys, host George Sirois takes a trip into the McHughniverse and chats with prolific award-winner author & 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! Jess is all over social media and you can find her on both Twitter and Instagram at @TheJessMcHugh. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

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! To find him on social media, go to www.twitter.com/rrvirdi. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

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. To follow EC and her journey, please visit ecwrites.net.  Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

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. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

For Episode 5 of Excelsior Journeys, host George Sirois speaks with bestselling and multi-award-winning independent authors Sheri Fink & 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 more information on their books, please visit https://www.whimsicalworldofsherifink.com/. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

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. To learn more about Kristina and her journey, please visit her on Instagram at @kristinaeriksonyogi.

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. Have questions for Doug? Send them to [email protected]. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations

For Episode 3 of Excelsior Journeys, host George Sirois took some time from his weekend at the authors & readers convention Penned Con (www.pennedcon.com) to chat with USA Today Bestselling Authors Michelle Lynn & 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, formatters, and cover artists that helped make their success possible. Got a question for either Michelle? Send them to [email protected] Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/excelsior-journeys/donations