Get a Sneak-Peek from My Upcoming Book!
What happens when an ordinary day turns into a test of courage, faith, and the very clothes on your back?
My book, Stripped: Tales of Humanity’s Most Basic Elements, explores these raw questions in a series of six short stories. One of them, “The Naked Shepherd,” begins with Pastor Danny Hart on a simple errand in a busy coastal town. His day, and everyone else’s, is about to take an unforgettable turn. Let’s start the story:
The morning sun glinted off the stained-glass windows of the Open Door Community Church as Pastor Daniel “Danny” Hart locked up the donation box with a satisfied sigh. Spring Break had brought the usual influx of tourists to the coastal town of Seabrook, and with them, a modest bump in the weekly offering.
Danny tucked the deposit bag under his arm, humming an old hymn as he stepped out into the salty breeze. He was in no particular hurry—just another errand in a life full of small, pleasant routines. His flip-flops slapped against the pavement as he made his way toward First National, the only bank in town that still had a human teller.
Inside, the bank was bustling. College kids in neon tank tops and board shorts clustered near the loan desks, giggling over their dwindling vacation funds. A frazzled mother tried to corral two toddlers while filling out a withdrawal slip. A pair of painters in splattered overalls leaned against the far wall, waiting their turn. The air smelled of sunscreen, sweat, and people ready to get on with their lives—standard for a Friday before lunch.
Danny took his place in line behind a group of sorority girls, their tanned legs and designer sunglasses marking them as out-of-towners. One of them glanced back at him, did a quick scan of his cargo shorts and faded “Love Thy Neighbor” T-shirt, and offered a polite smile. He nodded in return, resisting the urge to crack a dad joke.
Then the doors burst open.
Three men in black ski masks stormed in, guns raised.
“EVERYBODY ON THE GROUND! NOW!”
Screams erupted. A teller dropped a stack of deposit slips. One of the college boys instinctively reached for his girlfriend—then froze as a robber jammed a pistol in his face.
Danny dropped to his knees, hands raised, heart pounding. He’d done hospital visits, marriage counseling, even a eulogy for a local fisherman lost at sea. But this? This was new.
The lead robber—tall, broad-shouldered, voice like gravel—kicked the door shut behind him. “No heroes. No alarms. You do what we say, you walk out alive.”
Danny exhaled slowly. Okay. Stay calm. Watch. Wait.
Then came the demand he hadn’t seen coming.
“Clothes off. All of ’em.”
There was stunned silence all around.
“You heard me. Strip. Or we start shooting.”
The gasps were almost comical. The sorority girls clutched at their sundresses. The mother let out a choked sob, pulling her children closer. The painters exchanged a look of disbelief.
Danny, however, felt an odd flicker of recognition.
Oh.
This is about shame.
And just like that, he knew exactly what he had to do.
Without hesitation, he stood up—ignoring the robber’s shouted warning—and pulled his shirt over his head.
Every eye in the bank locked onto him.
The lead robber’s gun wavered. “The hell are you doing?”
Danny smiled. “Following instructions.”
Then he unbuckled his shorts.
In “The Naked Shepherd,” the story only gets more tense from here as the hostages, forced at gunpoint to shed their clothes, begin to find a new kind of power. This is just one of the unique tales you’ll find in Stripped. You’ll also encounter:
- The Weavers: In a town where clothes created social divides, a gruesome, unseen monster emerges from an ancient tar pit, meticulously weaving the skin and clothes of its victims into dreadful tapestries.
Anatomy of Justice: A philosophical hiker arrested for indecent exposure ignites a firestorm in a conservative courtroom when he defends his right to be naked as a constitutional liberty. - Heart of the Forest: In an enchanted forest, a high elf tormented by shame journeys to a hidden grove to confront her deepest insecurities and discover a new kind of freedom.
- Country Folk: A city woman moves to her husband’s family farm for a fresh start, only to discover their unconventional, unclad way of life challenges everything she believes about modesty and societal propriety.
- The Skin Libraries: In a dystopian future where books are banned, a man uncovers a secret society of “Librarians” who have become living archives, tattooing forbidden stories onto their skin.
Every story is a journey into the raw, unfiltered core of humanity, and this is just the beginning. You can pre-order your copy here. Get ready to uncover what it means to be truly human.