Lydia Conklin, "Friendly Crossroads"

It’s December 8. Lydia Conklin, author of Rainbow Rainbow, focuses on the horizon to avoid carsickness.

How would you describe your story?

LYDIA CONKLIN: My story is a tale of a young person finding herself through a strange Unitarian sex-ed program. 

When did you write it, and how did the writing process compare to your other work?

LK: I wrote this story a while ago, probably around 2011. The story came a little more easily to me than a lot of my other stories. I wrote it in graduate school, but I didn't put it through the formal workshop process because of the timeline—that was a time of writing a million stories for me. Instead I workshopped it with my outside writing group, which was made up of other writers I really trusted. 

What kind of research went into this story?

LK: The sex-ed program in the story is based on one I went through when I was twelve, but I hadn't remembered all the details, so I had to do a little bit of research into how it worked. I also had to do some research into the geography of the area, because I had only hazy memories of trips our group went on. 

What, to you, makes the short story a special form? What can it do that other kinds of writing can’t?

LK: I love how a short story is just a brief bit of time in a character's life. It's like meeting someone at a party who really opens up to you about all their sorrows and joys, but then you never see them again. I find it moving to think of seeing just a slice of a world like that. 

Where should people go to learn more about you and your work?

LK: They could check out my book, Rainbow Rainbow, which has ten stories in it, not including this one! 

What's the best gift you've ever been given?

LK: One year for my birthday my friends all gave me fake food. Kate Folk, who is also in this anthology, gave me a rubber fried egg. Someone else gave me rubber celery, and another person gave me a foam doughnut. 

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