IndieView with Karen Cantwell, author of, Take The Monkeys and Run

Karen is currently shooting up the Amazon charts and soon to be in the top 100 for paid Kindle store eBooks. You have a chance to win a copy of this very funny book, just leave a comment below… otherwise enjoy this charming lady talking about her book, writing and indie publishing.

“I never found an agent through querying.  It wasn’t until I had success with self-publishing on Kindle that an agent actually sought me out.  She is now representing me.”

Karen Cantwell 21 February 2011

The Back Flap

Film lover Barbara Marr is a typical suburban mom living the typical suburban life in her sleepy little town of Rustic Woods, Virginia.  Typical, that is until she sets out to find the missing link between a bizarre monkey sighting in her yard and the bone chilling middle-of-the-night fright fest at the strangely vacant house next door.  When Barb talks her two friends into some seemingly innocent Charlie’s Angels-like sleuthing, they stumble upon way more than they bargained for and uncover a piece of neighborhood history that certain people would kill to keep on the cutting room floor.

Enter sexy PI Colt Baron, Barb’s ex-boyfriend who would love to be cast as new leading man, filling the role just vacated by her recently estranged husband, Howard.  When Colt flies in from out of town to help Barb, events careen out of control and suddenly this mini-van driving mother of three becomes a major player in a treacherous and potentially deadly FBI undercover operation.  It’s up to her now.  With little time to spare, she and she alone, must summon the inner strength necessary to become a true action heroine and save the lives of those she loves.  The question is can she get them out alive before the credits roll?

About the Book

What is the book about?

It’s about a woman who is having a really, really, REALLY bad day.

When did you start writing the book?

I started writing Take the Monkeys and Run during the Fall of 2007.

How long did it take you to write it?

I completed the first draft in roughly 3 months, but continued polishing and re-writing over another two years while working on other projects.

Where did you get the idea from?

I was already working on an idea about a mystery of a long vacant house, when my neighbor told me about an incident that occurred in our own neighborhood back when she moved in over 30 years ago.  They had only been in their house a few short days, when they found a family of monkeys bouncing around in the trees near their garage.  After she called authorities to report the sighting an unidentified van showed up, some mysterious men in white jump suits got out, retrieved the monkeys and disappeared into the night without ever saying a word to her. The story captivated me, so I just had to run with it.  I combined the two ideas and Take the Monkeys and Run was born.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

When I started working on revisions, I knew the opening chapter needed work, but it took me quite a while to come up with a way to introduce the world to Barbara Marr that I was happy with.

What came easily?

The basic sit-down-and-write process came very easily to me with this first book because I was having such a good time creating the various characters and putting them in sticky situations.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

Totally fictitious, although I definitely draw little bits of stories or traits from people I know, or even from people I don’t know!

We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?

I loved the humor Judy Blume’s Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret when I was in elementary school.  Since then, my favorite authors have been humorous, or had a humorous element to their writing – Mark Twain, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, from the classics, and Tom Robbins, John Irving and Janet Evanovich from contemporary times.  I think they have all influenced my own writing in one way or another.

Do you have a target reader?

I’m sure mothers understand Barbara Marr better than most people, but I’ve been told by many men that they loved Take the Monkeys and Run, so I’m hoping it has a broad, commercial appeal.

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?

No process – I write when and where I can!

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just Chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

I didn’t outline the first draft of Take the Monkeys and Run, but when I did the re-write to expand the storyline, I had to do that with an outline.  I found it worked VERY well, so have subsequently outlined the second book, Citizen Insane.  Even though I do veer sometimes from that outline, it still helps me keep my sights focused on the plot.

Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?

It depends on the mood I’m in.  Sometimes, I feel like I can’t move forward if I don’t go back and edit some of the earlier pages.  Other times I feel like I just need to plow on through, then go back and edit later.

Did you hire a professional editor?

I did and it was absolutely the best thing I ever did.  I learned a lot, and I feel the book is much better for it.

Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?

No.  In fact music distracts me.  This upsets my husband to no end, who thinks somebody should ALWAYS be listening to music.  I need absolute silence.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

Yes.  Yes I did.  I never found an agent through querying.  It wasn’t until I had success with self-publishing on Kindle that an agent actually sought me out.  She is now representing me.

What made you decide to go Indie? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?

It was a particular event, although I have to say that it was always in the back of my mind that it might be a path I would take.  I had queried just about every agent in the book and was working on submitting to small publishers.  One in particular was VERY close to taking me on, and I thought it was in the bag.  Then they said “No.”  It was too different from the romances they were publishing.  That night, I decided I would look into publishing on Kindle myself.  The rest is history.  To this day, I’m so THANKFUL that small press rejected me!!!

Did you get your book cover professionally done or did it you do it yourself?

I had it professionally done by the same woman who designed my blog.

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

I started out with a SORT of plan, but now I’m sort of winging it.  I try new things here and there.

Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?

I say you have to do what feels right for you.  Everyone has to go through the whole querying-of-agents process, I think, to really understand how things work – to see if you can accomplish publishing that route.  It’s actually a great learning experience and it can help your writing too. But remember that writers write for readers.  So if you’re not finding an agent, definitely try Independent publishing.  It is very easy to do these days, and if you’re willing to get out there and push your book(s), it can be very, VERY rewarding.

About You

What would you like readers to know about you?

When I’m not writing or promoting, I enjoy gardening, watching movies and spending time with my family.  I think my family is my greatest gift in life.

What are you working on now?

Oy!  You had to ask!  I actually have three projects in the works – the second Barbara Marr book, Citizen Insane; a humorous chick-lit sort of vampire tale co-authored with friend LB Gschwandtner called Foxy’s Tale; and a middle-grade book called My Cupcake Summer about a self-involved young girl who learns there are others in the world with problems WAY bigger than hers.

End of Interview

You can buy Take the Monkeys and Run at Amazon, or Barnes and Noble. Or you could get lucky by leaving a comment here and Karen will gift the book to a lucky “someone”. Or you can catch up with Karen (and maybe even the monkeys) at her website.