"I think a lot of times when we are in the process of saying our final goodbyes to loved ones the process gets ahead of the deceased and more about us, how we look, if we're in the obituary, who's not, and a host of other things," he said. "What I tried to do in my book was expose a lot of that and bring awareness back to what's important-the loved one that passed away."

However, this is all just a normal day on the job for his fictional character Richie Keenan, columnist for The Eagle. In "The Funeral Writer," Richie frequents funerals all week, secretly documenting the bizarre events that take place and the unusual people who attend. He writes under the alias of Mitch Ford, but he struggles to keep his identity a secret as his column gains popularity.

R.C. added, "I think you'll see a lot of themes and issues faced by Richie. You see reinvention, questioning of his own faith in his abilities, and a sense of purpose in the end from something he didn't think would be a grand responsibility. He becomes this unorthodox super hero when you think about it.

The book is currently on sale at the Tate Publishing Website at http://bit.ly/s4bvId