Opal

Description

Opal Pratt avoids conflict like a yard dog avoids a skunk. She is a reclusive spinster living in rural 1950s Mississippi -- by herself in the same house where she was born. She can be timid and fragile, but also wise beyond her own understanding and courageous beyond belief. She and other characters in her world will make you smile, cry, and longing for more.

A Pushcart Prize nominee, Diane Thomas-Plunk authored Opsl, a collection of related short stories set in 1950s rural Mississippi. She was recognized by National Public Radio when her entry was designated a favorite in the Three-Minute Fiction contest. A story from Opal was a finalist in the Pen2Paper short fiction competition, and another was a finalist in the Nivalis 2016 international short story contest. She wrote the foreword to columnist Lydel Sims' re-publication of Assignment: Memphis. Thomas-Plunk's work has also appeared in the anthologies: What Would Elvis Think? Mississippi Stories; Steel Toe Review's annual favorites; and the Nivalis 2016 compilation of finalists. Thomas-Plunk has presented in California, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi and Florida. She co-authored a recurring column on the arts for Orange County Magazine in Southern California. More than a dozen of her short stories and poetry have appeared in Deep South Magazine, Belle Reve Literary Journal, The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, Steel Toe Review and China Grove Magazine.