A 2011 essay in Garden & Gun magazine called “Redefining the Southern Belle” got lots of responses; much of the feedback was positive, some not, but it all opened explorations of what “Southern woman” meant then and now. The discussions that followed led to a new book of portraits and interviews with artists, innovators and entertainers — from Reese Witherspoon to Oprah, Dolly Parton to Beyoncé, along with several names you may not know yet. We hear more about the new book from Garden & Gun , called Southern Women: More Than 100 Stories of Innovators, Artists and Icons, from Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice and Euneika Roger-Sipp, two women featured in the magazine and its deputy editor, Amanda Heckert.