My guest today is Kathleen Jabs, author of the military mystery Black Wings and a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. She holds an MFA from George Mason University. Her stories have been published in a number of literary journals and received several prizes, including selection in the NPR Selected Shorts program. She lives with her husband and two children in Virginia. I’ve asked Kathleen to tell us more about herself, her book, and of course, to answer her selection of my weird questions–my favorite is her answer about her worst enemy. Now, here’s Kathleen.
I’m a writer, wife, mother of two teenagers, daughter, sister, friend, public affairs officer, Navy reservist and insatiable reader. I grew up in Boston, left for the Naval Academy in 1984 and have lived around the world – in Japan; Hawaii; Panama; Washington, DC; Miami and New Hampshire. I live in Virginia now, but I love to travel. I served 6 years on active duty and have been a Navy reservist for the last 15 years.
My mystery novel, Black Wings, was published in December 2011. It’s hard to believe it’s been a year! It was published by Fuze Publishing, a small 
press, www.fuzepublishing.com and I’ve had a wonderful experience with them. Fuze is co-owned by Molly Tinsley who was my advisor at the US Naval Academy. It was very inspiring to reconnect with her and work with her to get my novel ready for publication.
1. What’s the color of your toothbrush? Orange.
2. What cd is in your cd-player right now? I’ve got Celtic Women Christmas Carols – it reminds me of my Irish heritage and gets me in the spirit.
3. How much do you use ketchup? (1 – not at all, 5 – on all foods)I hate ketchup! 1!
4. What’s the model of your mobile phone? I have an old Samsung – it embarrasses my kids because it is not “smart” and I need them to look up maps and phone numbers for me.
5. What’s the size of your shoes? 8 ½.
6. Is your middle finger longer than your ring finger? Yes.
7. What time do you normally go to bed on a working day? 10:30.
8. What is the most distant place you’ve visited (from your home)? I’ve been to the DMZ on the border between North and South Korea.
9. How often do you brush your teeth? 2-3 times a day.
10. Do you like carrots? Yes.
11. The size of your hard-disc? I don’t know…
12. What’s your favourite word? Serendipity.
13. If you were a tree, what tree would you be? A Birch!
14. What’s a word that rhymes with TEST? Best.
15. Name the brand of shoes you’ve recently worn. Dansko clogs – I live in them.
16. What were you doing at midnight last night? Sleeping.
17. Who told you they loved you last? My daughter.
18. Your worst enemy? Time! There is never enough.
19. What is your favorite cheese? Machengo.
20. An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. “Be brand-specific” it says. Man! What are you gonna say about that? Even if you don’t drink booze there’s something you can figure out… so what’s it gonna be? Acacia Pinot Noir.
Author Travels, Rue Allyn and Friends 