Originally posted by Raine:
Someone just told me that Signet has cancelled their Regency line (or maybe all their romances).

Has anyone heard anything about this?

Big bash will mark release of second "Gone With the Wind" sequel

By JILL VEJNOSKA
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/21/2007

OK, fine, he didn't give a damn.

But what else was Rhett Butler thinking during "Gone With the Wind's" 1,000-plus pages?

In essence, that's the hook of "Rhett Butler's People," the soon-to-appear second authorized followup to Margaret Mitchell's kudzu-draped little literary engine that could. Some 71 years after "Gone With the Wind" put such fictional Georgia spots as Tara and Twelve Oaks on a map that never goes out of print, Donald McCaig's "retelling" of the saga from Capt. Rhett Butler's perspective officially goes on sale Nov. 6.

But why wait? An official Web site, http://www.rhettbutlerspeople.com, is already up and running with some bare bones content that will be supplemented soon with trivia, contests and even a "Rhett Watch" newsletter, according to publisher St. Martin's Press. And like Scarlett O'Hara, who couldn't wait to doff her widow's weeds prematurely and dance at a ball during the Civil War, modern-day Atlanta will get an early jump on celebrating the new book.

There will be a launch party on Saturday, Nov. 3, at the Margaret Mitchell House & Museum — aka "The Dump," Mitchell's memorably withering nickname for the then-apartment house at the corner of Tenth and Peachtree where she pecked out "Gone With the Wind." After a press conference that's expected to attract journalists from as far away as Europe, McCaig will sign copies of "Rhett Butler's People" for, well, the people. The prepaid event will represent the reading public's first chance to get its hands on the book before it officially goes on sale, said Mitchell House spokesperson Anne Stanford.

<snip>

That reason is the book, about which everyone directly involved remains tight-lipped. Less of a sequel than 1991's "Scarlett," historical romance novelist Alexandra Ripley's commercially successful, critically panned, first authorized followup, "Rhett Butler's People" will actually cover more time (from the 1840s through the 1870s) and fewer pages (around 400) than "Gone With The Wind."

Written in approximately 4 1/2 years by McCaig, a onetime adman turned Virginia sheep farmer and well-reviewed Civil War novelist ("Jacob's Ladder" and "Canaan," released earlier this year), the book begins with a young Rhett being tossed out of school, said John Murphy, vice president and director of publicity at St. Martin's. He ends up working on his father's Charleston-area plantation, where his acquaintances reportedly include a young Belle Watling, later to become "GWTW's" famed brothel madam.

Meanwhile, St. Martin's Press clearly knows who Rhett Butler's people are. After heading up to New York for a round of press on the book's release date, McCaig's next stop on his book tour will be the Atlanta area for three days of signings and appearances.

Any Gone With the Wind fans out there? I hadn't realized there was another authorized sequel in the works. I didn't like Scarlett and I think that one was approved by the heirs of Ms. Mitchell.



Full article HERE

Here's a link to the other page

Rhett

Just started a new series by Elizabeth Hoyt; really enjoying them.

It starts with The Raven Prince, I'm partly through the second book, The Leopard Prince, and ends with The Serpent Prince.

Would anyone like to recommend some good historicals? Single titles would be great, but series work as well.