DuracellEnergizer said:

I want to work within the confines of the Expanded Universe, the Expanded Universe as it existed prior to the release of TPM;

I'm asking for help in pooling together all the bits and pieces of info pertaining to the EU's original conception of the PT storyline/characters...... even if it's just basic references to books or links to offsite blogs/sites/etc.

Thanks in advance.

Man, how did I miss a topic like this? I'd be very interested in a Lucas-free Prequel story. I'll try to come up with thoughts or passages as they come to me from all the EU I have. Until then, here is a list of publishing dates for all the novels so you'll know your stop date.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_novels_by_release_date#1976

Also, there could be all sorts of interesting ideas in the original newspaper strip that ran daily from 1979 - 1984. One of our very own has done a masterful job of preserving it;

http://dailysw.blogspot.com/

Give Tanith her well deserved moment in the spotlight. ;-)