The 1950s were a quieter time with no cell phones, texting, twenty-four hour news or social media. Residents of rural Mississippi had more time for unfettered interactions, although in keeping with the strict, but unspoken, social rules that ordered their lives. And then there was Opal Pratt. In this sequel to the author’s first book, Opal, Miss Pratt is encouraged to step out of her reclusive comfort zone and learns more about human kind. Sometimes more than she wants. In addition to new characters, the reader will recognize Olivia and Levi, the former hussy Frances/Francine, the immigrant preacher now with a love interest, and Opal’s rejected suitor, Lemuel, who assumes a new and special place in her life. Opal is naïve, courageous, and sometimes tragic. Follow her journey in Warren County Days. With a distinct voice that easily portrays both small town simplicity and heartbreakingly complex nuances, Diane Thomas-Plunk has once again transported me to the South I know and love in her new short story collection. The beloved Opal Pratt is back, along with a cast of characters both new and old, but all remarkable for the feelings they evoke. One standout story is None So Blind, which brought the combination of liquor and opera together in a manner that left me truly moved. I find it amazing that an author can take the folks that others would glance over and their life stories, and turn them into something exceptional. I was left wanting more, which is the definition of a powerful book in my opinion. ~ Christina Huber, Candid Christine Book Review Blog Readers who fell in love with spinster Opal Pratt in Diane Thomas-Plunk’s first book will be glad to meet more of this distinctly Southern writer’s small-town characters. Through interactions with old suitors, new neighbors, and roadside saviors, Opal continues to evolve with the changing times. ~ Erin Z. Bass, Editor & Publisher, Deep South Magazine Warren County Days is a believable trip back into the fifties. You’re going to see characters who leap off the page, full blown, and remind you of people you’ve known. And a few that you haven’t. Diane Thomas-Plunk, a born and bred Memphian, weaves stories about ordinary people who turn every day life into something special. ~ Randolph Haspel, Columnist, The Memphis Flyer

The Ultimate Indiana Day Trip Travel Guide includes a plethora of day trip destination in Indiana. A complete tourism guide the book includes local and state parks, museums, golf courses and much, much more. The book includes information on all of Indiana's 92 counties. No traveler in Indiana should be without it.

Thomas Day (1801-61), a free man of color from Milton, North Carolina, became the most successful cabinetmaker in North Carolina--white or black--during a time when most blacks were enslaved and free blacks were restricted in their movements and activities. His surviving furniture and architectural woodwork still represent the best of nineteenth-century craftsmanship and aesthetics. In this lavishly illustrated book, Patricia Phillips Marshall and Jo Ramsay Leimenstoll show how Day plotted a carefully charted course for success in antebellum southern society. Beginning in the 1820s, he produced fine furniture for leading white citizens and in the 1840s and '50s diversified his offerings to produce newel posts, stair brackets, and distinctive mantels for many of the same clients. As demand for his services increased, the technological improvements Day incorporated into his shop contributed to the complexity of his designs. Day's style, characterized by undulating shapes, fluid lines, and spiraling forms, melded his own unique motifs with popular design forms, resulting in a distinctive interpretation readily identified to his shop. The photographs in the book document furniture in public and private collections and architectural woodwork from private homes not previously associated with Day. The book provides information on more than 160 pieces of furniture and architectural woodwork that Day produced for 80 structures between 1835 and 1861. Through in-depth analysis and generous illustrations, including over 240 photographs (20 in full color) and architectural photography by Tim Buchman, Marshall and Leimenstoll provide a comprehensive perspective on and a new understanding of the powerful sense of aesthetics and design that mark Day's legacy.

Within a two-hour drive of Cincinnati, discover the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, and Kentucky's Red River Gorge Geological Area.

Includes: public acts, local and private acts.