Shades of the Departed Magazine Holiday IssueWith the Holiday Edition of Shades of the Departed Magazine, it is obvious that publisher/writer/photograph/footnote Maven has set a high standard of excellence for this new online publication, and I am excited to be one of the "Shadettes." So much better than being in the "shadows!"

This issue features columns by Shades regular contributors, footnoteMaven, Vickie Everhart, Rebecca Fenning, Sheri Fenley, George Geder, Craig Manson, Denise Olson, Caroline Pointer, Donna Pointkouski, and a new feature by The Photo Detective, Maureen Taylor. And, oh, my friend, Miss Penelope Dreadful was tickled to write a little something to accompany the cover photograph of Miss Margery Waters.

Pour yourself a cup of eggnog, put another log on the fire, and sit down with your laptop to enjoy a wonderful winter reading at Shades of the Departed Magazine. Then take a minute to drop footnoteMaven a note to let her know how much you like the project. It is truly a labor of love and a gift to the genealogy community. Thank you, fM.

Prompted to pull out her typewriter once again by a curious photograph from footnoteMaven’s archive at Shades of the Departed, Miss Penelope Dreadful has brought forward yet another tale of tragic drama, hope, and redemption.

The story of young college student, Gareth Scriven, struggling to overcome his grief after the untimely death of his beloved older brother will bring tears to your eyes and a sob to your breast. Yet, ever mindful that the human condition will seek solace at last, Miss Dreadful finds hope for Gareth in the correspondence of a very young teacher in a western town.

Visit Shades of the Departed today to read the Gareth’s thrilling story in “Returning Back to the School of Life.”

My dear friend, Penny Dreadful, knows that it's always great fun to take a break from hard evidence and do a bit of daydreaming. Thank you footnoteMaven for providing today's storyline at Shades of the Departed.

Word on the street is that Miss Penelope Dreadful is preparing another "dreadful" tale for her monthly Weekend With Shades column. Follow Penny Dreadful at Twitter.

Thank you, footnoteMaven for the opportunity to be a part of the Weekend with Shades series. Penny Dreadful has been having a great deal of fun discovering the stories behind your photographs.

If you have been following Penny Dreadful on Twitter you know that Miss Dreadful had a frightening experience in the high desert just the other day. Traveling by automobile with her younger (sigh) sister to visit their mother, the two young women were surprised to find the fuel running low on their vehicle. It was a new contraption and the ladies were unaccustomed to its whims, so this was not too much of a surprise in and of itself.

The lone service station passed some miles back would be most welcome now, but only sage and saguaro dotted the barren landscape ahead. Vehicles were even scarce on this stretch of the road, a less-travelled byroad that cut off many miles from their journey.

"Don't tell my husband," the younger girl begged. "He will be so angry. And don't tell your family, they will never forgive me if something happens, especially after I jumped out of the car and left you that other time [but, oh, that's another story]."

What could they do? The wind was whipping the automobile, the land was desolate. . .

Hold on to your hats, dear Readers, The Family Curator, will be writing a new monthly column at Shades of the Departed beginning this weekend, Saturday, March 7 under the nom de plume of her alter ego, Penelope Dreadful.

Close your eyes and imagine a time when mustachioed villains lurked around every corner. . . when a young girl's fate might be tied to a train track. . . when a handsome young suitor's guileless honesty could lure him away from protecting his beloved. . .

These will be the days brought to you in living black and white on the pages of Shades and every month. Penelope Dreadful will be burning the midnight oil to bring you what-may-have-been-true stories behind the Fantastic Photographs in the collection of Shades' footnoteMaven. You will laugh, you will cry, you will most certainly groan and be amazed at Penelope's skill in winding a twisting tale of love, suspense, mystery, mayhem, jealousy, suspicion, and all the rest.

Don't miss the first installment of Penelope Dreadful: The Story Behind the Photograph, "All That He Needed," Saturday, March 7 at Shades of the Departed.