Obituary vs. Celebration of Life

I was looking at web sites that had templates for writing obituaries, just because I will be including a few obituaries in my latest novel. It struck me that obituaries really don't tell you that much about the nature of the person who died. I learn much more when I go to a memorial service where they are having a Celebration of Life for the individual. Not only do they have panels full of photographs from different points in the life of the deceased, but they invite family members, friends and acquaintances to talk about him or her and to remember important and anecdotal events and encounters. These are extremely valuable to you if you only knew the deceased in a single context or situation. The problem is that I typically learn that my friend or acquaintance had so much more depth and substance in his or her life that I never comprehended or appreciated. Why can't we come up with a new kind of written profile for those with whom we interact that allows us to share our common interests and better appreciate each other while we are still alive and vibrant? We would need something beyond a resume that does not invade privacy, but opens the door a crack toward offering the opportunity to explore each other's qualities during one-on-one interactions. Can you write such a personal profile about yourself?

Into the Ebook World #1

I've finally started my journey into the ebook world with the publication of Lead Us Not into Temptation, Volume I of the Lord's Prayer Mystery Series as a paperless book. All formats of ebook are available at the links shown below:

Richard Davidson's Smashwords Author Profile: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/mysteryimp
Book page to sample or purchase Lead Us Not into Temptation: http://smashwords.com/b/59509

I've also just skimmed this book in both the widely distributed epub and mobi (Kindle) versions, and I found the ebook reading experience reasonably satisfying (although I still feel nothing can match the printed book experience). I will soon have my other books available as ebooks also.