Our Mothers and Daughters

A collection of short stories delving into the sometimes complicated relationships between mothers and their daughters.

The relationship between mothers and daughters can be as complicated as a Rubik's Cube. Turn the pieces this way, and there's a deep, loving bond. Twist the cube in the other way, and there's chilly disregard or fiery confrontation. Jumble the pieces completely, and unexpected emotions run the scales from day to day. In this book, you'll learn more about Opal Pratt's mother. You'll also meet the little girl too savvy to get into the predator's car, the mother struggling between her teenage daughter and invalid mother, the pre-teen who discovers that the grass isn't always greener on the other side, the mother who meets the adult version of the baby she put up for adoption, and many more. There is sadness and laughter, failure and success, and loss and discovery – everything that is life

A Pushcart Prize nominee, Diane Thomas-Plunk is the author of Opal and its sequel, Warren County Days – Short Stories of Opal Pratt. Both are collections of related short stories set in 1950s rural Mississippi. Thomas-Plunk 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. More than a dozen of her short stories and poetry have appeared in literary magazines and journals. In her previous life, Thomas-Plunk has been an accredited public relations practitioner as well as a print journalist. Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Thomas-Plunk currently lives with her husband and cat in north Mississippi.