Four years ago when I first began this blog column, it was with reluctance, and solely for the purpose of promoting my not-yet published book, Meeting in the Margins: An Invitation to Encounter Society’s Invisible People. It was one of those things, like ”having a Facebook presence” and hiring a publicist, that folks in the field said I had to do in order to successfully market my upcoming book.

So I began a Facebook page – which I’ve mostly ignored ever since. I hired a professional publicist, an expensive exercise in futility. And I made a commitment to myself that I would write and post one essay each month, for the purpose of marketing my book.

Even though it amazes me how fast the end of each month seems to approach, I have kept that promise. I’ve found that I really enjoy having a forum on which to air some thoughts, and how I enjoy having readers who respond to those ideas. Most of my posts have NOT been about my book, per se, but about the wide variety of margins that are part of our culture.

However, this month, in my 57th blog post, I need to crow again about Meeting in the Margins. The book just won a gold medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards – the “IPPY.” My award is in the Social Issues/Humanitarian category, and it’s very satisfying to have the book nationally recognized in this way. The IPPY comes with no monetary reward, but I do receive a certificate and a “gold” medal on a neck ribbon. PLUS, I get to affix gold medallion stickers to every cover of the book from now on!

That’s pretty much all I had to say this month. Except perhaps to invite you to stop by for a cup of tea, and I’ll let you take a turn at polishing my gold medal!