By the age of four, Roger Dean Kiser had been abandoned, first by his parents and then his grandparents and placed in a Florida orphanage. Unable to adapt to the difficult, often cruel and abusive environment of the orphanage, and stigmatized by his repeated attempts to run away, he was transferred to a Florida reform school at age twelve. Roger's poignant recollections of his painful childhood experiences will take you into the heart of a child abandoned by his family and abused by the system responsible for his care.

Now an adult, Roger Dean Kiser writes about his childhood along with his current day tales. A real-life Tom Sawyer, Roger's stories find a common ground in each of us. Roger Dean Kiser is a simple man with only a sixth grade education yet he possesses a wonderful ability, storytelling.

Listen to Roger's interview

INTERNET AUTHOR

Roger's primary publishing source is an Internet-based grassroots campaign that has his work appearing on over a hundred individual websites. His own website, online since 1999 has hosted close to three million visitors in four years. Roger continues to write, adding to an already impressive archive of 300 short stories. The continued interest in Roger's stories is noted by the 400 to 500 emails a month he receives from readers compelled to reach out to the author.

Email Roger Dean Kiser

PUBLISHED AUTHOR

Orphan: A True Story of Abandonment, Abuse, and Redemption (Adams Media Corp. Nov., 2001) is Roger's first published book. The book has met with very positive feedback such as Amazon.com reader reviews rating the book 5 out of 5 stars. Although little or nothing has been done to commercially market Roger or his book, over a 100,000 copies have been sold to date. The rights to Orphan has rescently been purchased by Bear-Buca Entertainment, LLC and the company is currently shopping for a new book deal.

Buy the book!

Filmmaker Nicholas Delfino of Manhattan Beach, California optioned the rights to Roger's short story The Bully and adapted the material into a short subject film. Shot on 35mm film, The Bully is a heart-warming true story of Roger's chance meeting of his childhood bully, Tony Claxton, and the unexpected choices the circumstance reveals. The Bully premiered at the Los Angeles International Film Festival in September of 2003 and is awaiting notice from various other festivals around the world. The Bully was Executive Produced by Edward Asner, who has also been very supportive in the development of a possible feature film or television series based on Kiser’s stories.

Watch The Bully / Reviews / Edward Asner / Email the director

TALKING BOOK - AUDIO CD

Roger's first talking book entitled The Life and Times of Roger Dean Kiser, Volume 1, is now available. The audio CD features 11 short stories and a comprehensive interview with the author for only $12.95 and the shipping is free.

Buy the CD for $12.95!

DEVELOPMENT POSSIBILITIES

There is merit in Roger's popularity and storytelling ability and with a large body of work from which to draw, many of Roger's stories translate easily to the visual medium. The question begs what medium?

Episodic Development:

Roger's stories work very well as vignettes and offer wholesome, well-developed storylines with strong character arcs, prime for development into 30 or 60 minute episodes with 1 to 3 self-contained story lines for each program.

A synopsis of the show would have a central adult character, Roger, who provides a narrative for back-story vignettes that tell the story of the trials and tribulations of a young orphan growing up in the harsh condition of the Florida orphanage system in the 1950's.

Roger's stories have development potential for several niche cable networks such as HBO, Showtime, Hallmark, WB, Lifetime, Disney, and ABC Family.

Feature Development:

A) A pure dramatic feature with a Cider House Rules, Stand By Me, Hearts in Atlantis child's perspective of life growing up in an orphanage, as told in back-story and narrative by an adult character, Roger.

B) A documentary feature, "Bowling For Columbine style" revolving around an on-camera interview with Roger, possibly set on the front porch of the author's mobile home in Brunswick, Georgia. A well-crafted interview and Roger's heartfelt anecdotes provide the framework for the introduction of beautifully shot vignettes featuring Roger's stories.

For information email Nicholas Delfino

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