Every town has stories beneath its streets.
Some are buried beneath abandoned mines.
Others beneath baseball fields, family tables, and memories that refuse to disappear.
Bespoke is where I share those stories.
Featured Book
Seven Hills
A novel by Brent Taylor
In the fictional mining town of Jasper, Oklahoma, three childhood friends come of age beneath the shadow of the Seven Hills—towering remnants of a mining boom that brought prosperity to their community while leaving scars that will outlast them all.
Grace Ryan, Percy Walker, and Clay Boyd share a childhood shaped by baseball, friendship, faith, and the rhythms of small-town life. But as they grow older, Jasper begins to change. The mines that once sustained the town have left behind poisoned streams, buried dangers, and questions few people are willing to ask.
When Grace returns home from college, she sees Jasper differently. Her hometown seems to be changing. Percy dreams of becoming a writer and searches for a life beyond Jasper. Clay is deeply faithful to his home and family.
As their paths diverge, each must decide what loyalty means to a hometown that has given them both belonging and loss.
Seven Hills is a story of friendship, memory, courage, and the complicated love we carry for the places that made us.
Books for Sale
Seven Hills will be Available to purchase October 2026
Stories
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I am eating a King Kong Maple Bacon Cronut in my daughters honor as she is graduating next week with a Master’s Degree in Nutrition and Different Stuff. Jenna is a constant source of wisdom about food and life and has taught me some amazing things, not the least of which is how to smile…
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While Brandon was home this winter he was imitating a Coast Guard cutter on our frozen pond, whacking the ice from a kayak with a double-bladed oar. He broke the oar like a hobo eating a hard pretzel. Which means he really is my son. Our family has a long legacy of tearing things up.…
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Why is the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue in February? Sports journalism is boring in February, at least 52 years ago it was. So sports were fabricated in February. Barrel jumping on ice, demolition derbies, and…bikinis? So 52 years ago, a bunch of men decided that bikinis were sport by proclamation. My brothers and I grew up…
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It’s difficult to comprehend all the political jousting about immigration policy. And even something as simple as people yearning to breathe free seems to be smothered in sound and fury. Sometimes it helps to hear a story from someone you can relate to…here is one by Rich Little. I was detained by immigration at Miami…
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I’ve always had an aversion to my own birthday parties accompanied by the candles, singing, presents, and celebration. I would rather sit in a quiet corner and engage in singular conversation with someone or perhaps read a book by myself. To borrow Philip Yancey’s term, I’m a recovering legalist, someone who loves structure but can’t sustain it…
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Malibu is beautiful. The people are beautiful also. 60 is the new 40 here and everyone looks much too healthy, glowing like they might be famous or perhaps they are names on a rolling movie credit…anonymous yet vital. And Malibuans can spot us coming from miles away like the time we did hot yoga and…
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I was the cookie guy at the end of the serving line last night. There was a small zip lock bag on the end of my right hand (we forgot the serving gloves). This made grabbing tiny icing topped sugar cookies challenging and sometimes the cookies slid like hockey pucks into adjacent gravy and the baggie…
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Weddings wear me down and my smile begins to hurt, all the eating, hosting, hugging, social adrenaline, and dancing turns my legs to jelly. After Brandon and Liz drove away, I decompressed by checking the OU/Ohio State game which only compressed me more, as I listened to the announcers describe the Oklahoma football team’s…
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I’m learning how to sing the national anthem out loud, but it doesn’t come naturally to me. And I always feel unresolved at the end of verse one because…well, it ends with a question and it’s not my favorite song, but hear me out. We all have to sing the song we know best. My wife…
