I’m always working on something new! I’m currently working on two projects: a book stemming from my work on the Martindale | Morley | Nutting archive, and, when I need a break from that, a book provisionally titled The Tabletop Historian’s Guide to the Middle Ages. I’m currently seeking representation for either or both projects, so if you know any agents or editors who might be interested, please put me in touch!
CURRENT PROJECT #1
Into the Fires: Stories from the Martindale | Morley | Nutting Archive
Into the Fires is a multi-generational biography of a family of teachers and farmers from rural Ohio that, over five generations, traveled to some of the most dangerous places in the world to fight injustice. The woman who went behind confederate lines to illegally teach people who escaped slavery how to read and write. The passionate abolitionist who volunteered for the Union cavalry and found himself needing to compromise his values. The sisters who went to Ottoman Turkey to teach music, and found themselves rescuing hundreds of Armenian orphans from the Genocide. The man who fought tooth and nail against Joseph Smith when he tried to take over their town. His granddaughter who married a firebrand preacher and went west on a quixotic mission to convert the Mormons back. All were passionate. Maybe even heroic at times. But they were far from perfect. Sometimes they didn’t go far enough; sometimes way too far. They were constantly pulled between doing what was right and what was expedient– and sometimes, even knowing which was which.
I hope it’s gripping read for anyone who have dedicated their lives to making the world a better place. It’s an unflinching look at gender, race, disability, religious bigotry and genocide, and the complexities of acting as an “ally” against injustice.
So far, I have published two articles previewing the material in this book:
My Aunt, the Ghost of Kirtland Ohio
The story of Hattie Martindale, a woman who suddenly found herself at the center of a maelstrom of ableism, 19th century quackery, and yellow journalism as the center of a local scandal gone viral. Read more at Belt Magazine.
Honoring the Women behind the Martindale, Morley, Nutting Archive
Simply put, this archive would not exist without the life’s work of five women in my family. Family archiving was long derided as “women’s work”. This honors their work of collecting, preserving, organizing and researching as the historical tour de force that it is. Read more at paulsturtevant.com.
CURRENT PROJECT #2
The Tabletop Historian’s Guide to the Middle Ages
The Tabletop Historian’s Guide to the Middle Ages is a guide to the wild and wonderful real world of the Middle Ages, with classes, lineages and opponents drawn from medieval history and fiction. It’s a guide for DMs as well as players for injecting a bit more history into their gaming session, and will help you ground your worldbuilding in reality.
Or, want to get weird with it? Well then you’ve come to the right place, as this book will include sections on the monsters and mayhem dreamed up by medieval authors, including encounters from medieval heroic romances, epic medieval voyages into the unknown, and absurd creations lurking on the edges of your medieval maps and manuscripts.