I don't feel I stand corrected re: Masquerade Books, nor is my memory that faulty.

N&S (along with about 4 other titles, including Mark Pritchard's original Too Beautiful) almost wasn't published. It was slated for publication in December 1998. And Masquerade did re-structure somehow and, thankfully, N&S appeared in Spring 1999 instead. Obviously I don't know the legalities that were involved, but I do know what I experienced.

If you have any other comments, it's easy as pie to just email me. My email address is all over the freaking Internet.