Have you tried Anne Rivers Siddons? I can't remember which one of them I read first, but not only were they very close friends in real life, they often blurbed each other's books. They have a similar "richness" of description and depth of characters and excess that made me fall in love with "Southern" writing. I'd suggest starting with her Peachtree Road- if you liked The Prince of Tides or Beach Music you'd probably be very comfortable with Peachtree Road.