Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity
Inspired by the international bestselling young adult / science-fiction novel Excelsior, this weekly interview show puts the spotlight on both up-and-coming and established creative talents who share their journey to success.
Episodes
On this week's episode of Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity, host & producer George Sirois sits down with fellow author Michael Hilton. While the two have similarities in their respective paths to the same publisher, Michael talks about his debut novel "Bobby Robot" was launched in 2020... right before COVID shut down the world. During that time, Michael focused on expanding his universe by writing Parts 2, 3, and 4 an...
On this week's episode of Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity, host & producer George Sirois sits down with arts educator, speaker, and social dance advocate Rodney Eric Lopez. In addition to being the author of "The Generosity Solution" and the founder of the Currents RI Giving Circle, Rodney has channeled his experience - which is seen in full view in the documentary Mad Hot Ballroom - into his workshop entitled "I Don...
On this week's episode of Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity, host & producer George Sirois sits down with author Betsy Randolph. After years of working in radio broadcasting, law enforcement, the US Army Reserves, the military police, and more, Betsy has taken all of her experience - as well as a rich family background and a love of research - and brought it all to Roan & Weatherford Publishing Associates. She has ...
On this week's episode of Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity, host & producer George Sirois sits down with fellow podcaster Carolyn Kiel, host & producer of Beyond 6 Seconds. Starting in 2018, Carolyn's podcast has put the spotlight on neurodivergent people of all ages, brought awareness to various afflictions, and resulted in well-deserved awards & recognitions from organizations around the world.
Click HERE to...
On this week's episode of Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity, host & producer George Sirois sits down with author Annie Atkin. With a love and passion for writing fast-paced stories focusing on women taking on the patriarchy in various eras, Annie has brought her debut novel Devil in the Daylight to bookstores through her new home, Roan & Weatherford Publishing Associates.
On this week's episode of Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity, host & producer George Sirois sits down with producer Joslyn Vance. As the woman behind Soul Culture Films, Joslyn has worked on various film & television projects, and she has most recently brought her expertise to the film entitled "Bedridden." Starring Earthquake, Donnell Rawlings, and more, this dark comedy is now available for rent / purchase on Appl...
On this week's episode of Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity, host & producer George Sirois sits down with W. Michael Farmer, a multi-award-winning author of Western Historical Fiction. With his various series such as The Vanishing Trilogy, Legends of the Desert, The Life & Times of Yellow Boy, and The Apache Kid Chronicles, Michael - who is also a retired Ph.D. physicist - has poured years of research into nineteen...
On this week's episode of Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity, producer and host George Sirois sits down with writer Matt Witten. After poetry gave him his first creative outlet, he was encouraged in high school to write his first play. That led to several other plays, which then led to Matt making the move to writing thriller novels and spending the next twenty years writing for television shows such as Law & Order, Hou...
This week on Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity, host & producer George Sirois sits down with documentary filmmaker Sara Alessandrini. She has spent several years producing her feature-length documentary - which then became a miniseries - about the fall of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, after various allegations forced his resignation and eventual decline from the political stage.
This week on Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity, host & producer George Sirois sits down with visual effects producer Taylor Rockwell. A lover of the performing arts since childhood, Taylor spent years behind the scenes as a stage manager for multiple theatrical productions, and eventually took the opportunity to transition from theatre to film. Her first film was Evan Almighty, and she would go on to work on such block...
On this week's episode of Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity, host & producer George Sirois sits down with author Cheryl Pena. Ever since the age of three, Cheryl has wanted to write and pursue as many different creative endeavors as possible. While others took center stage for various times, writing always stayed back, ready for its time. And now, with various novellas published followed by the first two parts of a tri...
This week on Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity, host & producer George Sirois sits down with Michael Wendroff, author of the critically acclaimed thriller novel "What Goes Around." This was a particularly enlightening conversation since a lot of the focus was on how Michael set himself up in New York City as soon as he arrived there for college. It's a truly inspiring story that is a true representation of the phrase "...
On this week's episode of Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity, host & producer George Sirois sits down with children's book author Maryanne Wood. Having started her journey as an author as recently as 2025, Maryanne knew right away that it wasn't enough to bring her books to schools. She had to bring an experience with her, and that has been accomplished through the various supplemental materials on her website. The two ...
On this week's episode of Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity, host & producer George Sirois sits down with Kyle Merrick, a well versed creative strategist who is presenting his program called "Anarchy for a Day." This program allows you to take a look at life, see what works, and give it a tweak to see what works best for you.
Find out more about Kyle's program, and schedule your free consultation by clicking HERE.
Excels...
This week on Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity, host & producer George Sirois sits down with prolific author and musician Ryan McGinnis. Growing up on frequent visits to the library and feeding his mind with a steady diet of thrillers, science-fiction, and horror, Ryan's creativity flourished and manifested itself in a series of thriller short stories, musical performances, and his first sci-fi novel Terrestrial.
On this week's episode of Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity, host & producer George Sirois sits down with an old friend from the days of writing together on 411Mania.com: author / critic / film analyst Bryan Kristopowitz. A member of the deep roster of prolific writers on 411Mania since 2005, Bryan immediately set himself up as a champion for the ultimate cinematic underdogs: the B-movies. Those wonderful oddities that...
On this week's episode of Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity, host & producer George Sirois sits down with author & musician Christopher Kaufman. With a lifelong love of music and the fantasy genre, Christopher has combined his many talents into a fully immersive original story called Tales of The Ocean City, complete with a symphonic score that captures the listener's imagination and carries them through a multi-pa...
PRODUCER'S NOTE: Thank you for your patience while the show took a week off to clear up some technical difficulties. The computer is running much better now and I look forward to getting caught up with presenting some great conversations.
On this week's episode of Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity, host & producer George Sirois sits down with author Lanie Mores. In addition to writing her award-winning Father of Content...
This week on Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity, host & producer George Sirois sits down with author Lindsey Goldstein. After going from veterinary medicine to working in the film industry, Lindsey pivoted toward writing and got hers out into the world in the form of essays, articles, and short stories published by the New York Times, Princeton Alumni Weekly, The Chicago Story Press, and more. Most recently, Lindsey too...
This week on Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity, host & producer George Sirois sits down with author Julie Rowe. After accepting a dare to get her work out into the world, Julie went on to follow her published prose with her own writing workshops and her own hand-crafted swag items.
Excelsior Journeys: The Road to Creativity exists primarily as a platform for creatives of all kinds (authors, filmmakers, stand-up comics,...
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Hey Jonas! The official Jonas Brothers podcast. Hosted by Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas. It’s the Jonas Brothers you know... musicians, actors, and well, yes, brothers. Now, they’re sharing another side of themselves in the playful, intimate, and irreverent way only they can. Spend time with the Jonas Brothers here and stay a little bit longer for deep conversations like never before.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
Building on the belief that a deeper understanding of the natural world enriches all of our lives, host Steven Rinella brings an in-depth and relevant look at all outdoor topics including hunting, fishing, nature, conservation, and wild foods. Filled with humor, irreverence, and things that will surprise the hell out of you, each episode welcomes a diverse group of guests who add their own expertise to the vast world of the outdoors. Part of The MeatEater Podcast Network.
Where the world and America meet, with episodes each weekday. The world is changing. Decisions made in the US and by the second Trump administration are accelerating that change. But they are also a symptom of it. With Asma Khalid in DC, Tristan Redman in London, and the backing of the BBC’s international newsroom, The Global Story brings clarity to politics, business and foreign policy in a time of connection and disruption. Come and join us our live event. You can register for Castfest tickets here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/shows/castfest-2026