Every story begins somewhere.
Sometimes it begins with a person. Sometimes it begins with a question. Sometimes it begins with one small moment that refuses to leave you alone.
That is really where the Conversations series began.
I did not start these short videos because I wanted to become one more person talking into a camera. I started them because I kept noticing moments in everyday life that felt worth sharing. Some were connected to writing. Some were connected to work. Some came from quiet observations while walking through a store, sitting outside, driving home, or thinking back on something that stayed with me longer than expected.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized those moments are often where stories begin.
My novel Dust and Mercy did not begin with a perfect outline or a fully formed plot. It began with people. It began with questions. It began with ordinary moments that slowly became something larger. Over time, those pieces came together and became a story about mercy, judgment, grace, and what it means to truly see another person.
The Conversations series grows out of that same place.
These videos are not lectures. They are not sermons. They are not meant to have all the answers. They are short reflections on life, writing, hope, faith, memory, and the small things that often shape us more than we realize.
Some conversations will be about writing. Some will be about the people and moments that inspire stories. Some will simply be about noticing life as it happens.
My hope is that each conversation gives you something to think about — maybe a person, a memory, or an ordinary moment seen a little differently.
That is the kind of storytelling I care about. Not just stories that entertain, but stories that stay with you.
— R. M. Kiser