We still aren't convinced by yesterday's rumors of a $7 million book deal for Sarah Palin, especially not after a quick e-mail exchange with an industry insider we're confident would know if a deal was in the making. This source confirms that several publishers are interested in working with the former Republican vice presidential candidate, but hasn't seen anything on paper from her or from an agent. Nor does this insider know who, if anybody, has succeeded in contacting Palin.

We did come away with a theory about that Radar item, though: "If someone really threw out a pre-empt number like $7M," our source speculated, "why bother writing a proposal, or going to any other house?" Why indeed—the question then is, who would do such a thing?