Overcoming Burnout: When Creativity Becomes a Calling: Vanessa Thurgood's Story - Latter-Day Lights

What do you do when the career you worked so hard for leaves you feeling burnt out?

In this week’s episode of Latter-Day Lights, Scott and Darla sit down with author and Praiseworthy Award Winner, Vanessa Thurgood, to share how stepping away from the career that caused her burnout, unexpectedly led her toward a new calling: writing epic fantasy novels filled with themes of courage, faith, and resilience.

What began as merely an entry in an old dream journal eventually became “The Comstock Chronicles,” a fantasy series that has touched readers in deeply personal ways. Vanessa shares how writing emotionally honest, deeply human characters allowed readers to see themselves in the story—especially during difficult seasons of their lives—and how one message from a reader helped her realize the true impact her work could have.

Apart from navigating imposter syndrome, learning to trust spiritual promptings, and discovering how storytelling can become a powerful way to share light, Vanessa also shares how her creative journey expanded beyond books and into creativity retreats designed to help women reconnect with creativity, joy, and themselves.

Vanessa’s story is a heartfelt reminder that the gifts we’re given often have a greater purpose, and that when we choose to share our light, we may end up helping others find theirs, too.

*** Please SHARE Vanessa's story and help us spread hope and light to others. ***

To WATCH this episode on YouTube, visit: https://youtu.be/ukTnYo_FBV8

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To READ Vanessa’s book series, “The Comstock Chronicles,” visit: https://a.co/d/0066TVh9

To LEARN MORE about Vanessa’s work, visit: https://vanessathurgood.com/

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To READ Scott’s new book “Faith to Stay” for free, visit: https://www.faithtostay.com/

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Keep updated with us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latter.day.lights/
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Also, if you have a faith-promoting or inspiring story, or know someone who does, please let us know by going to https://www.latterdaylights.com and reaching out to us.

Transcript

“Faith to Stay” by Scott Brandley

Scott Brandley 0:00

Hey there, as a Latter Day Lights listener, I want to give you a very special gift today. My brand new book, Faith to Stay. This book is filled with inspiring stories, powerful discoveries, and even fresh insights to help strengthen your faith during the storms of life. So if you're looking to be inspired, uplifted, and spiritually recharged, just visit faith2.com. Now, let's get back to the show. Hey everyone, I'm Scott Brandley.

Darla Brandley 0:31

And I'm Darla Brandley. Every member of the church has a story to share: one that can instill faith, invite hope, and inspire others.

Scott Brandley 0:39

On today's episode, we're going to hear how a young mother went from a burned-out photographer to an author of clean epic fantasy, providing teen Latter-day Saints with better books to fill their shelves. Welcome to Latter Day Lights.

Vanessa Thurgood 1:15

Excited to be here.

Scott Brandley 1:16

Yeah, well, thanks for coming on and sharing some of your talents with us today. So, Vanessa, I'm told that you are one of the praiseworthy award winners in 2025. That's pretty cool.

Vanessa Thurgood 1:28

Yeah, it was very exciting.

Scott Brandley 1:30

So, um, why don't you kick things off and tell us a little bit about yourself?

Vanessa Thurgood 1:35

Um, well, to start off, I label myself as a serial creative. I love to do anything from painting like the ones you see behind me to drawing to getting outside, uh, horseback riding, mountain biking, whatever. If it keeps me active, I love to do it. And writing books has been an awesome experience because I can take all of those creative outlets and our outdoor adventures and put it into words and share that with others.

Scott Brandley 2:05

Awesome. So, do you do do you integrate some of your adventures and life into your stories?

Vanessa Thurgood 2:13

Absolutely. After I got done writing my first book, it was more of just a reflection of this all the experiences I've had in my life and different people I've met wound their way into becoming characters. And it's interesting to discover things about yourself that you never knew as you read back through your own words.

Scott Brandley 2:34

Right. Yeah, that's cool.

Vanessa Thurgood 2:35

I love that.

Scott Brandley 2:37

So tell us about your family. Where are you from?

Vanessa Thurgood 2:42

Um, I originally grew up in Reichsburg, um, one of those BYU Idaho local students that had a lot of fun. I am actually an agricultural business major with a marketing and advertising minor. And I'm one of those people that can actually say I used my degree after I graduated. Because I worked for um after we're after we graduated from BYU Idaho, my husband and I moved to Michigan. And while he did his master's degree, I got to work with the Department of Fish and Wildlife. And so I helped them put on events to showcase how to eat wild game and that it tastes really good. And then we'd do different events like archery or teaching them how to fly fish or different things like that. And it was just so much fun. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. That's awesome. After that, we moved here, and now my husband and I, we've got three little kids, all wonderful, spunky, just very active, outdoorsy kids. It's been a lot of fun.

Scott Brandley 3:45

Sounds like fun. Yeah, it's funny. I grew up, well, me and Darla, we both grew up in southern Alberta, and I remember as a kid just having free reign to go anywhere we wanted, right? It's such a different world. I mean, living in the city, so we live in Ogden, Utah, and I mean it's just so different here.

Darla Brandley 4:07

Our kids did not have the freedom to roam like we did. No.

Vanessa Thurgood 4:13

My kids are still fairly lucky because we we have a little bit of acreage around us, and we have a my husband and I run a berry and cut flower farm. So to add to our dizziness, we like to do that. But our kids are just total tree climbers burying each other in the sand dunes and just mud monsters. So it's good. They still get a lot of that free rain. It's good.

Vanessa’s burnout phase as a phorographer and creative

Scott Brandley 4:38

I love that. Brings back memories. Well, awesome. Um, we're really excited to have you on the show. So why don't we turn the time over to you and you can kind of tell us where your story begins.

Vanessa finds a dream from her journal and gets inspired to finish the story through writing

Vanessa on experiencing impostor syndrome while writing her 2nd book

God answers Vanessa’s question

Vanessa Thurgood 4:52

Yeah, you bet. So I will be the first to say that I'm never planned to be a rider, ever. My first dream when I was a kid was to be a horse trainer because my family raised lots of horses. We bred horses. So that's what I was gonna do. I was gonna train every horse that we had and whatnot. But but then as I got into high school, I got into photography and just thought that's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna be a photographer. But then I got into college and coming from a farm background, then I was like, oh, I I should do something related to agriculture. So I went into agricultural business and loved the still bringing in the the photography. So I did photo design and graphic design and anything related to marketing and advertising. But I will say, I just because we think we know what we want to do with our lives does not mean that's what we should actually do with our lives. And God is very good about directing us where we need to go. Because after my husband and I got done with his graduate degree, we moved to Western Idaho. I spent four plus years being a professional photographer over there. And I loved that. I loved the people I got to meet, I loved going to the events until one day I didn't. I came home from a job completely just exhausted. I was fed up with trying to find sitters for our kids when I had events. And my husband was getting more involved with work. So I I felt stretched to the limit trying to take care of our little family. And I said, I can't do this anymore. And so after that day, I just sat down with God and I'm like, I don't know what I'm supposed to do. You know, I've I've tried all these avenues. I have two little kids, four and two. I don't want to do anything that's outside of the home because I want to be there for them. And in the process of that conversation, the idea gradually grew on me like, you remember all those notebooks that you wrote down, all the wild dreams that you had growing up? Maybe you should open those up because maybe there's something there. So I surprisingly had all of those old notebooks that I had from when I was a teenager. And I'm flipping through them, and I come across this dream that I had written down when I was 15. And the dream was me riding my horse, and we go into a cave, and inside the cave, we find this vast lake that was just crystal clear water, and there's little glow worms hanging from the ceiling. And as we're walking through the cave, I see something shining in the water. So I ride my horse out into the water, and I see this white medallion hanging just hanging out on the bottom of this lake that was only like four feet deep. So I jump down off my horse and go to investigate. And the moment my feet touch the bottom of the water, the pond there, the water just exploded outward, and I was able to reach down and grab that medallion. But the moment my hands touch that medallion, I wake up. I'm like, what? I I gotta know the rest of the story here. I need to know what happens after I touch that medallion. And as I continue to think about what that medallion was and maybe powers it had, or why the water did what it did, it slowly evolved into this story idea. And God was just like, maybe now is a good time to write it down. So the last photo job I had, I decided to buy an iPad and a key keyboard so that I could start working on writing down that story. And my husband was getting ready to leave on a trip to Germany. And as he is doing that, he's like, hey, why don't you come with me on this trip? It'll give you some time to get, you know, relaxed and settled out from all the wildness from your photography jobs and just take a vacation. Take your tablet, start writing on that story. Just do something to bring a little more peace back into your life. So I did. And I have to say, I don't know what it was about that sleepy little fishing village, but walking on the shores of the Baltic Sea, having that experience, and kind of just being in a place where magic felt alive. It's just like I have to keep writing this story. So long story short, after that moment, I finished the story. It was awful, but I finished the story and found some editors who were very willing to teach me how to write because that wasn't what I went to school for. I I went to school for design and and business. So I found these editors, they helped me along, and it turned into something incredible. I have, like I had mentioned, we I poured my whole story, my whole life story into this book without realizing it, putting my characters through these scenarios. And it was eye-opening. I got to see parts of myself that I didn't know were there or that needed to be taken care of, which was a little scary at times, but also very enlightening. But as I finished that book and started moving into my second book, I was hit with a severe case of imposter syndrome. I'm just like, what am I doing? This is turning into a business. I didn't want to start a book business. I just wanted to write a book and put it out there. But as you find out, writing a book comes with becoming an entrepreneur and making it work if you actually want to do it as more than just a hobby. And I'm sitting there and I'm like, I don't know if I want to keep doing this. Maybe, maybe I just needed to get that first story out of my system. And maybe now's the time to go back to photography. This is just feeling too hard. So I sit down with God again and I'm just like, you know, this is uh too much. I'm I'm I think we need to change course here. And I had recently had a conversation with a friend where she told me that she had started writing down questions in her journal and then praying about them, and then writing a big letter A and waiting for the answer. So I was like, okay, this is a pretty big thing. So I'll write down my question and then I'll pray about it, and then write down the thoughts and impressions I get. As I did that, I prayed, waited and waited and waited, and I'm just like, hello, God, are you there? I I just asked you a really big question that I need help on. And God is so patient with me. He he lets me get out my rants and waits until I'm truly done speaking. And then the answer just poured out. My my hand was moving almost without my conscious thought. And when I look down at what I wrote, he he told me, You will be an instrument in my hands. And at first, I'm just like, what do you mean by that? That didn't answer my question. That didn't tell me if I was supposed to keep writing or if I needed to do a career change or just quit working altogether. What does this mean? So we sat and chatted a little bit longer, and by the end of that, I was able to understand that through my writing is how I'm going to be an instrument in his hand. And I sat back and thought about that for a long moment. I'm I was afraid to pursue this path, afraid of everything that would come along with being a writer as a full-time writer. But because I had written down my question and followed it up by writing down that answer, I had concrete proof that God was wanting me to follow this path. So I said, okay, as long as I've got God on my side, I can do it. You know, if God's with us, who can be against us? So from that day forward, I anytime I got bogged down or things felt too tough, I would go to that dog eared page in my journal and reread my question and reread that answer. And I have never felt like God has not been with me. Especially with the last book I've been writing. It's probably been the hardest book I have written. And every day I would start with the prayers, say, I'm not sure how this chapter is supposed to go today. Please guide me. And the book was completely out of my hands. It it came because God helped me to finish writing those pages.

Scott Brandley 14:26

So, how many books have you written so far?

Vanessa Thurgood 14:30

I have six novels and two short stories out now. Well, the sixth one is coming out still, but yeah. That's amazing.

Darla Brandley 14:39

I love that. I love that story too. That God is right there with us and you know, inspired. I love that.

Why Vanessa decided to keep writing

Vanessa Thurgood 14:48

It's honestly been the biggest reason why I have been able to continue and to be able to put out all the books that I have. But the reason I have found that I keep writing isn't necessarily just to keep putting more books out or to build my business and build the other aspects I have going with it. But the moment that it showed me that God truly had me on the right path was the day I got a letter from one of my readers. Never met her. She lives in the Midwest somewhere. But she wrote to me and told me how, because of my books, she was able to get through a really tough time in her life when a tornado came through her town and just tore things to pieces, tore her house apart. And she was just dealing with a lot of trauma and stress from that. But my book survived the devastation from the storm, and that's what she had, and that's what she kept re-reading. And because of the main character in that book and the things that she goes through, this girl decided, you know, if she can do that, then I can I can handle what I'm going through right now. And it's so cool because I write about epic fantasy and mythical world and just things that aren't real. But because of the connection that storytelling creates between the writer, the reader, or the listener, you feel like you are truly going through the experience with that character. And because of that shared experience, it tells your mind, yes, you can do these things. And that's so cool. And I've I think that's one reason why I have really resonated with the Book of Mormon, because there is such a strong narrative there. You can identify the characters like Nephi and Heelaman and Captain Morone and the you know the 2000 Stripling Warriors. And I've I always love, especially like Captain Moroni's story with the title of Liberty, because you think of the unrest that happened during the time of the Nephites there, and and they it was a rough time. There were people trying to take away their liberty, their homes. And Captain Moroni, I would have loved to have meet this man because he just sounds like the most bold and courageous person ever. And, you know, most of us when we hear about political things going on, we might grumble to our friends and just say, I wish things would get better. But not him. He he was like, We are gonna take care of this situation and we're gonna do something about it right now. So he grabs probably one of his nice coats, shreds it, and then writes these words on there saying, In memory of our God, our religion and freedom, our peace, our wives, and our children. And then he ties that to the end of the pole. And then he puts on his armor and gets his horse and rides to every town. And by the end of it, he's got a legion of soldiers following him, all ready to stand up for their beliefs. And I'm just like, we have to find a way to embody that courageous spirit. Because if there's people like that out there, that means that we can do that too. We can stand up to people who are trying to compromise our beliefs and the things that we are doing because they did it. I love that aspect of stories. You can be transported and learn so much just by hearing other people's experiences. And that's why podcasts like this are so needed, because you're sharing stories, you're sharing light. And that's what God has asked us to do. You know, don't hide your light underneath a bushel, share it, talk to people.

Darla Brandley 18:45

Yeah, stories are so important, they teach us so much. I mean, that's why the savior even taught in parables and stories, is because they are so powerful because they are um much more to our heart.

Scott Brandley 19:01

Well, and you remember stor you remember stories a lot better too, right? If somebody just taught you at you, if somebody tip a versus somebody tells you a story, it's just something that you're a lot, you're it's easier to recall and and can think about what's in that story.

Vanessa Thurgood 19:20

Yeah, I my writing coach actually taught me a trick as we're preparing to do public speaking events or church talks, for example. You know, it's you start your talk with a story, but you leave the ending, you don't give the way the ending at the beginning, so that everybody's on their edge of the seats at you know, begging for the end of the story while you give your lesson and the examples. And so by the end of the talk or the lesson, then you give them the final piece of information. And I've done that a few times, and I've had people come up to me, I'm so glad you finished that story. And I'm thinking, I'm so glad you listened to the rest of my talk. That's smart too. I honestly writing stories and writing the characters that I do, because of how powerful stories can be, I've found that the more human I can write characters, the more flawed and the more mistakes they make, the more relatable they are to people. And so in my stories, I've got very flawed families who fight, but they also know how to apologize. I've got relationships that don't work out because not every relationship works out in life. But you learn how to deal with it and move on and learn from it because of the stories that you are able to read. I love that. That is so true. That speaks here.

Vanessa’s journey of writing + comparison

Scott Brandley 20:49

Tell us like the journey of writing the different books and from where you started to where you are now.

Vanessa Thurgood 20:56

So it's interesting that my very first iteration of my story actually became my fourth book in my series, and the series has five books in it.

Scott Brandley 21:08

Okay.

Vanessa Thurgood 21:09

But once I wrote that, I realized there's a whole big backstory here that we need to go into and figure out what happened. So I I'm an ultra planner. I use giant sticky notes to get all my ideas out when I'm working on books. And as I go through that, I pick out all the main ideas, put them into logical order, and then I'll write out a big outline for each of the books. And after I get done with that, then I really find that writing becomes much easier because I already know what I'm aiming for, which is part of the reason why I was struggling so much with book five, because the ending kept shifting. So it was hard to write the rest of the story without knowing where I was going. But Dealing with the imposter syndrome that came along with it, it was tough because you get to know other authors in the industry, you get to see all their successes. And of course, that's what they put out online. You see, hey, my book just sold 500 copies in one day. It's fantastic. And you're looking there at your stack of 10 books thinking, I haven't sold a single one this week. So part of the imposter syndrome comes from comparison. And I can't remember exactly if it was an apostle or someone else, but someone had mentioned that comparison is the thief of joy. And I believe it was Elder Holland who stated this, but he's like, even with the best makeup kit in the world, you could never compete if you tried to match yourself up to the world standards. It's just not possible. So it's better to accept where you're at and then move on because that comparison will always drag you down. And that's where the imposter syndrome really set in hard for me because I was comparing my journey that no one else has been going on with someone else who is either further along in their career or they have better connections than I do. And we're not on the same journey at all. Their reasons for writing are not my reasons. I have been specifically told that I am writing to be an instrument in God's hand. And being part of things like this podcast is part of being an instrument in his hands. I am able to bring his light to others because of it. And that's what I have to keep in mind. Because even after six books, two short stories, and 20 more books that I want to write, you still feel that imposter syndrome, even if even when you're successful. I read a lot of self-help books and they talk about this perfectionism that high achievers have. And because of that, they always set the bar higher and higher and higher, even though they meet those metrics. They never feel like they have arrived because their goal and their destination has always moved.

Scott Brandley 24:22

Yeah.

Vanessa Thurgood 24:23

And that's another reason why imposter syndrome in comparison will always drag you down.

Scott Brandley 24:29

Yeah, I've I'm I got I got my degree in business as well. And I've started many businesses as Darla can attest.

Darla Brandley 24:38

But still many.

Scott Brandley 24:40

I've been working on the next big business this past year. And even though I've started a lot of businesses, I still get that. I still feel that. Right? I'm like, yeah, who are you to do this? Right.

Vanessa Thurgood 24:54

Exactly.

Scott Brandley 24:55

And you just have to push, you just have to push through it.

Vanessa Thurgood 24:59

And I think that's having your why as to what you're doing is huge. Because if you don't know why and you can't answer that question, then when that imposter syndrome hits, you're gonna be sitting on the floor wondering what you're doing with your life and why you are trying to do something as wild and crazy as whatever it is you're trying to do. But developing that why, and especially if you're developing it with God's help, it becomes concrete and it it's so helpful.

Darla Brandley 25:35

That's so true. The why that's very good.

Where Vanessa sees herself in the future + creativity retreats

Scott Brandley 25:39

So now that you're six books in and you've said you've got 20 or more ideas uh in the pipe, um, like are you still excited about writing? Is this still something that you're passionate about? What do you how do you see the future?

Vanessa Thurgood 25:54

I honestly see myself just continuing on with writing. When I first started this journey and trying to build, just do away with the burnout from photography, I told myself, you know, when the writing thing stops working, stops serving you, we'll just let it go. You wrote something, great. You know, 90% of people say they want to write a book, 1% do. You wrote a book, so you're part of that 1% that achieves something. So pat yourself on the back and move on. But I have to say that after eight years, I only feel like I'm getting going because now I get to coach authors. I I run a story, it's called Story Quest, but I help authors write their books, go from idea all the way to published manuscript. And it's so fun for me because I love geeking out over word structure and characters and world building and finding people who are just as into that as I am. It's like going to the extreme Comic-Con festival. Everybody's dressed up. We're so excited we're here. And I have honestly been able to meet so many incredible authors, so many other people in the creative space that they they've taught me so much. I've got one friend who just lives down the road from me, but she is an artist. And she and I were talking one day, and she just put the idea out there. She's like, you know, I'd really love to just help women who are feeling burned out and struggling. And I feel like I want to do something for them. You know, I don't know if it's a retreat or or what we need to do, but I I really feel strongly that I need to do something about it, but I don't know what to do. And as she will attest, she's got ADHD and just you know, creative idea here, here, here, here, here, and trying to chase them all at once. And it's hard to stay focused and get it done. And me being the ultra planner that I am, I was like, Yeah, yeah, that sounds good. But as I went home after that conversation, again, the spirit was nudging me and and saying, you know, you really need to text her back and tell her that you will help her with this event. And I'm thinking, um, I've got a lot of stuff going on. So I don't know if I need to add something else to it, but you know, when the when the spirit's nudging you, it's it gets hard to ignore pretty quick. And I'm trying to get better about acting on those promptings a little bit quicker than I have. So I texted her back and I told her, your idea is great. I think people definitely need that because both she and I had dealt with burnout from professional careers and just being a mom. Because sometimes, especially if you've got young kids, you kind of feel like you're trapped in your house some days. And it's hard to just feel normal and like yourself. So because of that, I think we need to go through with this event, and I will help you make sure it happens. And we did. We put on this creativity retreat for women in our neighborhood who just are feeling burned out and need to do something to reconnect with their creativity and just find joy again in their lives. So we hosted a tea party and taught them photography, and we did dancing and drumming and um watercolor painting and drawing, and just we had so much fun. And if you were to take a picture or even just a video interview of those ladies, when they first walked in for the event, they were stiff, they were scared, they were just like, I'm not sure if I'm here doing the right thing. But by the moment they left, they were just glowing because they had reconnected back with themselves. And again, you come back to God puts you in places and helps you to do things long before you ever realize what's happening, so that you can help people to draw closer to Him, to feel less stress, so that they can feel the spirit more. And that's why we do these creativity retreats. And we've got another one coming up, and I am just tickled pink thinking that we can help women find that joy and that spark again.

Darla Brandley 30:27

I love that. That's so fun. I would love to do all of those things. You talk about all of them like that would be so much fun to get together with a bunch of women and just be creative. I think that's awesome.

Vanessa Thurgood 30:39

It has honestly surprised me with how excited it it makes all of us because I always loved art, but because of the friendships I've made through that event and other connections, I have done more painting and drawing than I have ever done in my life. And even if you're busy, you can totally have time to do those types of things. And by doing that, you it chemically releases endorphins, it makes it so that you feel happier because you are doing something tactile and you're using colors, and the colors just help your mind settle down and relax, and it's just it's incredible.

Darla Brandley 31:21

I I think out of on the science of it all day, but yes, my mother always said she had to do something creative every single day in order to just be, you know, sane and normal. And yeah, she loved that kind of thing.

Scott Brandley 31:35

Yeah, I wish it was more like you gotta you gotta go to one of these retreats, Darla.

Vanessa Thurgood 31:41

Yes, yes. We would love to have you.

Scott Brandley 31:45

So isn't that kind of cool how it started out with this desire to write, and then now it's going into these, you know, these events. I mean, you would never do the events if you wouldn't have done the writing, right?

Vanessa Thurgood 31:59

No, I never, and even just where we landed as far as my husband's job. You know, we we moved from western Idaho to eastern Idaho, and the job that brought us here isn't the job he has anymore, but we have found that we wound up in the perfect community for who we are. We've connected with people better here than we ever have before. And if I hadn't moved here, I would have never met those ladies who got me into art and into helping me with these retreats. They are honestly some of my biggest supporters in my writing career. And it's so wonderful because we support each other in everything that we're doing, and that's not friendships. Those are if I hadn't moved here, I wouldn't have had those friendships.

Vanessa’s advice for aspiring creatives

Darla Brandley 32:47

Oh, I love that. That's so awesome. I agree. There's places I've lived that I have just connected with some there's someone that I've connected with that I just lifelong friendship, you know.

Scott Brandley 33:01

Um, so if you had some advice for someone that's you know trying to become creative or write or do art or some some type of uh I don't know, a skill that that they want to pursue, what do you have any advice for them?

Vanessa Thurgood 33:22

One of the biggest things I would suggest is pick one. I know as creatives, I struggle with picking just one because I I love music, I love dancing, I love drawing, I love painting, I love writing, I love being outdoors. I have tons of hobbies and interests, and a lot of creative people have that same problem. So by picking just one to start, I think is one of the biggest helps. But then find someone who is supportive and you can check in with because having that support is huge. I'll admit when I first started writing, my family just kind of thought, uh, this is just the burned out mom talking that she just needs something to do. Yeah, but after two, three years, they're like, oh, this is serious, you're you're like creating a business here. But it wasn't always that way, and so having good support makes a huge difference, and then not judging yourself as you are in the process of creating. I was listening to the Come Follow Him podcast with John by the way and Hank Smith. And recently they had a guest on there who was talking about the creation. And I wish I could quote her word for word because it was just absolutely beautiful. But she stated that in the beginning, creation was messy. You know, God didn't have a perfect world to start with, he had to form it from unorganized matter. I mean, look at your house. I'm sure there's unorganized matter somewhere. So you take this unorganized matter and you form it into something. You don't know what it is yet, but you're forming it into something. And then you take more time, you take more detail, you put the detail in there, you add a little bit of this, a little bit of that, until what you create has become perfect. And that is the life we are creating. Our lives are in the middle of creation. Nobody's perfect. Creation is not perfect, perfection comes at the end, and it's okay. That's what we're here for. We're here to learn, we're here to make mistakes. And as you are drawing or editing or writing or whatever, you make mistakes. My manuscripts have been full of them. My editors come back bleeding my manuscripts, they are just red, and that's okay because I'm learning. And each time I get that back, I'm better. And I don't make a lot of those same mistakes the second time. And I loved that, it just absolutely resonated with me because we get into that perfection mindset where if we don't do it right the first time, then it's we're just not good at it. No, you need to take the time, don't do it with judgment, just allow yourself to experiment and create. Just try.

Scott Brandley 36:55

Great advice. So um, we haven't even talked about your books. I know kind of getting to the end, but tell us a little bit about your series, what's it about, and who what's your target market?

Darla Brandley 37:10

And the name of it, so I can write it down and go buy it.

Vanessa Thurgood 37:13

You bet. Um, so the series name is The Comstock Chronicles. It's a young adult fantasy, but it kind of graduates to a new adult fantasy. Um, I I love to bring in a little bit bigger themes than clean fantasy sometimes does. Because I'll bring in hard-hitting topics like human trafficking or manipulative relationships or different things like that. But it's always with the intent that these things are bad and there are ways that we're gonna do better, and we're going to get out of these terrible situations so that we can become better and do better in life. So, my books, while they have those harder things, there's also a little bit of humor sprinkled in. And we've got obviously the magic, it's epic fantasy. So we've got big quests, we've got dragons, shapeshifters, and we've got four elemental guardians, um, earth, sky, water, and then fire. And earth and fire don't get along at all. And that's where a lot of the tension in the stories comes from. But I loved focusing on each of the elements as I go through the series. Like I the Earth Spark obviously is about Earth, and then we go into Sky Magic with the Raider's Curse. And then in book three, we take a little bit of a time jump. We jump back in time, learn a few things about some of the characters, and the main character gets to discover a whole lot more about herself and what she is willing and not willing to do. And then we jump back to the normal time. We've got water magic with the siren's call and the final book in the series, which is the Phoenix and the Wolf. We are into our final battle, and we've got fire magic all over.

Darla Brandley 39:24

It makes it fun. That is fun. That is fun. Now, can you buy it just like on Amazon or I've got it on Amazon?

Vanessa Thurgood 39:32

It's available on my website, Vanessa Thurgood.com. The ebooks are available wherever you can buy ebooks. Awesome. And soon I'll have print on demand from my website as well. So they'll get out a little bit quicker.

Scott Brandley 39:46

Cool.

Vanessa Thurgood 39:46

Awesome.

About Vanessa’s creativity retreats

Scott Brandley 39:47

And then what about your your events? Do you do you advertise that or is that a local type deal?

Vanessa Thurgood 39:55

Um, they've mostly been local. We've had a couple people from Utah come, but it's generally been local. But we would open it up to anybody. Our space is pretty limited, especially with how in-depth we go into some of the different topics. We this next event we're doing, it's gonna be in the first part of September. We don't have a specific date yet, but we'll be doing photography. Um, we'll have a bohemian tea party this time, so very free-spirited, and and we'll make flower crowns, do charcuterie boards, some watercolor painting, and vision boarding. So it'll be a lot of fun.

Scott Brandley 40:37

Sounds like you guys will have a blast.

Vanessa Thurgood 40:39

We usually do. There's usually a dance party at the end. I love that. That's fun.

Light does more when it’s shared

Scott Brandley 40:46

Well, awesome. So this has been super fun. Vanessa, thanks for coming on. Um, as we kind of wrap things up, do you have any final thoughts you'd like to share?

Vanessa Thurgood 40:56

Really, I I would like to just end with um in in my series and in my writing career, I have come with come up with this phrase, and it's come out in my books as well, that light does more than when it's shared. And that has been a big theme throughout the books. So if you have a gift, if you have a talent, you should share it. And I feel I I'm if I don't know if you've ever read the talk by um Elder James E. Faust, but he talks about the light in your eyes and how you don't even have to state that you are a follower of Christ. You can just see it in someone's eyes because they're they're full of light. And that's what I want to bring to the world with my books and with our events and my story coaching. I want to bring light to others, and everyone has that ability to do it as well. Whatever it is you want to pursue, if you feel pushed to do it with God, then he will see you through it. He will help you to share his light with others through those things that you do that you don't even realize are bringing his message and helping his children. And I love that aspect.

Scott Brandley 42:23

Yeah, I agree with you. That's why the podcast is called Latter day Lights. We can share light. Now I'm looking at my eyes in the podcast to make sure I have the light in my eyes.

Vanessa Thurgood 42:36

It's there, it's there.

Outro

Scott Brandley 42:38

I need better lighting so that you can see it. Well, thanks, Vanessa. This has been super fun. Um, and thanks everyone for tuning in today to hear Vanessa's story. If you would like to know more about Vanessa or follow her, go to Vanessa Thurgood.com. Is that right?

Vanessa Thurgood 43:01

Yep.

Scott Brandley 43:02

Awesome.

Vanessa Thurgood 43:02

You can also find me on Instagram, Facebook, and soon there will be writing tutorials on YouTube.

Scott Brandley 43:10

Awesome. Well, we wish you the best in your future endeavors and your next 20 books. Thanks again, everyone, for tuning in. And make sure that we hit that share button so we can do our five-second missionary work and get Vanessa's story out there so that we can share her light with the rest of the world. So thanks again, Vanessa, for for coming on. And if anyone else out there has a story like Vanessa that they'd like to share, they can go to latterdaylights.com or email us at latterdaylights at gmail.com, and we'd love to have you on. So thanks again for being on the show, and thanks for tuning in. And we'll talk to you next week with another episode from Latterday Lights. Till then, take care. Bye-bye.