Author releases guide to TV's "The Dukes of Hazzard"

From Bo and Luke Duke, to sweet cousin Daisy, to the upright Uncle Jesse and that fabulous roarin' orange 1969 Dodge Charger dubbed the General Lee …

Fans of the action-adventure hit TV show "The Dukes of Hazzard" can now indulge their love in the new print version of BRBTV's reference guide, "Them Dukes! Them Dukes!"

Designed as a fun, easy-to-use companion guide to the show, which first aired from 1979 to 1985 on CBS, "Them Dukes! Them Dukes!" features a comprehensive cast list, a detailed character guide showing how all the characters relate (including all "them Dukes" — and there were a lot of 'em!), an episode guide that includes original airdate and title with each synopsis, "fun and useless" information about the show and its stars, a guide to the show's plentiful merchandise — vintage and new — and much more.

"This is designed to be a loving tribute and a useful resource," says author Billie Rae Bates, who first published "Them Dukes! Them Dukes!" as an electronic, interactive PDF book in 2003. "I didn't set out to create a 'story-behind-the-scenes' book, as that's already been done. Instead, this book, as with the other BRBTV titles, is a compendium of information, with alphabetized indexes, to have at your side while you're watching the show and curious to know who's playing a certain character or how a certain episode relates to another one."

But at 152 pages, the book is more than alphabetized lists, Bates points out. "There are photos of the show's original filming sites in Georgia, the way they look nowadays," she says. "And there's a complete bio on each of the actors and more. I had a lot of help from the actors and their publicists, and I was very thankful with how things came together."

"Them Dukes! Them Dukes!" is the third book in BRBTV's four-book series of reference guides to classic 1980s TV shows. The first book, "Dynasty High," a guide to TV's "Dynasty" and "The Colbys," was released in print in September 2004. Each of the two books is a trade paperback that sells for $14.99 on Amazon.com, BookSurge.com and numerous other e-tailers.

Bates officially released "Them Dukes! Them Dukes!" at the Hazzard County Car Club's "Roads Back to Hazzard" tour of the show's original filming sites in the Covington, Conyers and Oxford areas of Georgia on March 4. She also plans a book-signing at the Motor City Comic Con in Novi, Mich., May 20 and 21, as well as a summertime 2006 signing at the A Touch of Country gift shop in Covington, Ga. Bates, 37, lives in Metro Atlanta not far from where the show filmed before relocating to California in 1979.

"Them Dukes! Them Dukes!" is also still offered in lovely full color as an electronic, interactive PDF file at the BRBTV.com homepage or through eBookAd.com. At the cost of $4, the e-version contains the same content as the print version.

The purchase of a BRBTV electronic book entitles the purchaser to free future updates, Bates says, through BRBTV.com. She keeps the e-books updated for news and major events.

Bates, whose other BRBTV books focus on the soaps "Dallas" and "Santa Barbara," says the projects come from a natural love of the classic shows as a teen in the 1980s.

"We all wanted to live at Southfork — or take a ride in the General Lee — didn't we?" she says. "Besides sources of exhaustive and accurate reference information, these books are designed to be a way to relive our own feelings of fun and escapism when we originally watched the shows."

Bates originally created the BRBTV concept on her off-hours of working for The Detroit News and living in downtown Detroit in 1998. Before her time writing and editing for The News, she worked as a writer and editor for The Saginaw (Mich.) News, the Wausau (Wis.) Daily Herald and the graphics and publishing department of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. She also worked as a director of communication for a northern Michigan hospital system. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Michigan State University.

Bates has published two fiction novels, "Rubi" and "Call Me Mary Magdalene," both based in Detroit, where she lived for seven years.

For more information about the author or her books, click to http://www.brbtv.com or http://www.billierae.com. Bates also writes a daily blog covering news and events of the four BRBTV shows: http://brbtv.blogspot.com. You can email the author at BRB@brbtv.com.


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