A Family That Writes Together, Stays Together

Tatiana Tawney graduated Veritas Prep in 2021 and is in her sophomore year at Benedictine College.  Two of Tatiana’s siblings still attend Veritas Prep.  Kateri is in her senior year and their brother, Jude, is a junior. Jake Tawney, Chief Academic Officer at Great Hearts, is the father to these three siblings who have written and published The Perilous Quest and more recently The Fountain of Oblivion, the first two books of The Wanderer’s Trilogy that they have created.  It’s hard to say which is the greater achievement, publishing not one but two books and counting at such a young age, or doing so with your siblings.

The trilogy is set in a bountiful world created by an all-knowing, all-good Being. A world that revolves around the Sea, the plentiful and gentle Astocia. A world explored and mapped by the courageous Wanderers, brave men who sought adventure and always kept their eyes on the ever-growing horizon. And yet it is a world under attack. A great Evil is growing and threatening to swallow everything that is good and true and beautiful. The largest threat known to the world so far, and its fate lies in the hands of a young Wanderer. Along with his companions, this young Wanderer must face evils beyond his imagining, and learn to lead, love, and lose in the Quest of his life.

The Tawney’s came up with the idea during an afternoon of swimming. “We were messing around in the pool one day, being classic siblings and playing some sort of strange game with wanderers and boats,” said Tatiana. “We got out of the pool and kind of looked at each other, and said, ‘This would make a great book. Let’s write it.’ I don’t think any of us really believed we would finish it, let alone publish it for everyone to read, but once we started writing, we really just fell into love with the process, the story, and the characters.”

Jude added, “We realized that we actually could make a great book about this random idea.”

The collaboration between the three involves a methodical writing process that gives each sibling an equal voice in the books. Before drafting each book, they would meet together with notebooks in hand and discuss in detail what will happen, verbally working through any plot holes together. Next, they would write out the chapter outline of the entire book and evenly divide up the chapters between the three of them along with a set deadline.

“Once we are done, we will transcribe all the chapters to a shared, single document, and begin rewriting. The rewriting process basically consists of talking over the entire book and saying, ‘This is what needs rewritten or brought out further, who wants to do it?’ And then another deadline for rewrites will be set,” explained Tatiana. They said process is often repeated a few times. It is remarkable to note that with this through this process, it would be hard to tell that the book has three distinct writers, and it would be difficult for a reader to distinguish exactly who wrote which portion of the each book, since each chapter has been rewritten time and time again by all of them.

“I would say the most fun part of the writing process was actually going back and seeing what the others had rewritten. And then of course adding things yourself,” said Jude.

Kateri added, “Yes, I had a lot of fun adding things such as poetry and songs.”

Kateri described the experience of writing with her siblings as, “Crazy, chaotic, lots of inside jokes, and writing random passages and alternate endings for fun.”

Jude admitted that getting people to write their chapters could be a struggle at times, but Tatiana feels the experience has brought them closer. “The discussions we have are so entertaining, and many, many inside jokes have sprung from certain characters or certain events that take place in the books. Additionally, we are able to build off of each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”

A great example of this is while Tatiana is particularly averse to writing battle scenes, Jude loves writing them. Kateri loves writing poetry, so she writes all the lore and songs that appear throughout the books.  Tatiana believes it is so valuable that they are able to create together. “Art is such a communal experience, and it has been so amazing to me that the creation of this story has been communal as well: a shared experience between me, Kateri, and Jude.”

The trio just released the second fantasy book of The Wanderers Trilogy and plan to release the third and final installment next winter. “I think when we first came up with the idea to write we did not know it would be a trilogy, but after exploring the ideas and what we wanted to do with it, we very quickly discovered it would have to be a trilogy,” explained Jude.

“Great Hearts introduced me to the evangelizing power of literature and the great authors,” said Tatiana. “My goal as a writer, as a storyteller, is to communicate fundamental truths, ‘old verities and truths of the heart’ as William Faulkner calls them, and Great Hearts was my launching point for this. At Great Hearts I was introduced to the great authors and works of literature and was taught to think critically about them. Through my time at Veritas, reading and imitating the great authors, I fell in love with writing.”

Kateri attributes her Humane Letters courses for enhancing her love for literature. “I already had a love for literature, but it really reinforced that and deepened my love for not only literature but also philosophy. And it made me realize my great dream to become the next Tolkien. This book is just a great story, and I think everyone will enjoy it. We spent a lot of time on it and we’re really proud of it. This is not the end of our journey as writers, rather the beginning.”

Jude added, “I would say just exploring various ideas and interests in the Great Books we read in the Great Hearts curriculum fascinated and inspired me. For example, the epic battle scenes in the Iliad really inspired me to write epic battle scenes.”

Tatiana hopes everyone will be able to gain something from reading them, even if it’s only the thought of “this is written by three siblings; that’s kind of cool!” The Perilous Quest and The Fountain of Oblivion are both available on Amazon and would make great gifts this holiday season.

Do you have a story or know of a story that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts?  Please contact jmoore@greatheartsamerica.org.