August 2026: Back To Work!
- Aug 4
- 3 min read
The Adventure Continues...
August 2026 - Back To Work!
Six Weeks In: Learning to Walk Before I Run
(Not that I intend to be running any time soon...)
I’m now just past the six-week mark following my total knee replacement surgery in June, and recovery is moving along nicely. I’m doing physical therapy three days a week and, perhaps most exciting, I’ve moved past needing a walker, a cane, or any other walking aid. Hooray! This week marks the beginning of the next phase: building strength and working toward greater flexibility. My current goal is to get that knee bending to 130 degrees. I’m currently at 120. I saw my doctor last week and he says there’s still work to do. The process has been a reminder that recovery is rarely about one dramatic breakthrough. It’s about showing up, doing the work, and celebrating progress that might have seemed insignificant a few weeks ago. (Kind of like writing.) One step at a time. Doc has me out walking, even in this summer heat. He wants me walking a mile a day and building up to two miles before he turns me loose. At one point, when we were still in Oklahoma, I was doing a 5K every day. I wouldn't mind getting back to that level, but that's a battle for another day.
THE VEIL OF SECRETS
Now Available on Audible!
I’m thrilled to announce the release of the audiobook edition of The Veil of Secrets, Book One of the Manifest Destiny Series. And the narrator is absolutely extraordinary. The audiobook is narrated by Florence Andrews, a star of stage and screen who is currently appearing as the Begger Woman in Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in the UK. Having Florence bring The Veil of Secrets to life is an incredible honor. A story about secrets, power, history, and the forces shaping the future deserves a truly remarkable voice. If you’ve been waiting to experience The Veil of Secrets in a new way, here it is! We're already campaigning for some great reviews on Audible to show Florence the love from our readers. If we can count on you, let me know!
WriterCon 2026 is Coming!
Join us for the 19th annual WriterCon Conference Labor Day Weekend 2026 in Oklahoma City. If you know me, you know this is the one writing conference that has a standing spot on my calendar, so you know I'll be there. This years' conference will feature three days with over 60 speakers (including yours truly) providing more than 60 sessions, each designed to cover all genres and all aspects of the writing experience: skills, industry knowledge, opportunities, networking, pitching, contests, opportunities to meet with writers privately, to obtain manuscript reviews or private consultations, and much more. Registration is open, and hotel rooms are booking up fast, and why wouldn't they? WriterCon is held at the historic (and haunted) Skirvin Hotel. If you are a writer (or want to be), this is the place to find your tribe and make your writing dreams come true! I hope I'll see you there! For more information, visit www.writercon.com.
A NEW RELEASE IS COMING!
THE HANGED MAN - Book 4 of The Manifest Destiny Series is scheduled for release on 8/8/26 and you do not want to miss out on this latest epic adventure for our heroines, Eliza and Esme Wren. The reckoning begins … In New Orleans’ French Quarter, a cursed tarot Card vanishes from an occult antiquities shop, the scene of a brutal murder—The Hanged Man, an Artifact tied to a cryptic puzzle book that has treasure hunters and conspiracy theorists circling the city. Eliza and Esme Wren are sent in with a new experimental containment device and one mission: recover the Artifact before its influence spreads. But nothing about this case is contained for long. Elias and Solan are soon pulled into a separate trap when a familiar enemy arrives with a vendetta—and the knowledge to expose the Aegis Order’s darkest secrets, including Solan’s illicit use of Artifacts and Elias’s buried past. As old betrayals resurface and THE HANGED MAN tightens its grip, the team discovers the Artifact is only the beginning. In New Orleans, secrets don’t stay buried—and some are deadly enough to kill for. The greatest threat isn't the Artifact. It's the truth.
Until next time...
Stay curious, always! Betsey Kulakowski
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