# Take the Monkeys and Run, A Barbara Marr Murder Mystery



## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

Greetings! My name is Karen Cantwell and I just recently published my novel, *Take the Monkeys and Run*, on Kindle. Not exactly a cozy, this book is more of the "medium-boiled" variety. 

http://www.amazon.com/Monkeys-Barbara-Murder-Mystery-ebook/dp/B003SE7O40


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? 
_____________

Under its original title (Monkeys in My Trees) it was a semi-finalist in the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest where is received a very nice Publisher's Weekly review as a result:

"This fun if light novel's quippy, hilarious narrator, Barbara Marr, has so much warmth and genuine gumption, you'd certainly want her on your criminal investigative team. The spunky Virginia housewife and mother of three is almost at the end of her rope - her hunky husband, Howard, has left her; it's her 45th birthday; and she's just discovered three monkeys living in the trees in front of her house. "Life was pretty sucky" as she puts it. But while investigating the curious case of these monkeys, a bit of unexpected adventure shakes things up just the right amount. In a warm-hearted, deftly observed comic-farce-meets-mobster mystery, Barbara and her friends from her quiet suburban neighborhood, Peggy and Roz, stick their noses into the business of a deserted house down the street and find themselves caught up in some off-the-wall FBI business that hits way closer to home than they could have imagined. Perhaps a bit goofy at times, this is nevertheless an outright treat: diverting, funny and fast-moving." (I was VERY excited to get that review!)

I write to entertain and make people laugh. Hopefully my book will do that for you! I have been having fun reading and joining in on the various discussions on these boards, and look forward to "talking" with everyone more. 

Thanks! -- Karen


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Welcome to KindleBoards, Karen and congratulations on your book!

It looks like you've been around a while but this is your first book thread. So here's a quick overview of the rules.

We invite you to use your book cover as your avatar and have links to your book and website in your signature. Don't forget to bookmark this thread (using your browser's bookmark/favorite function) so you can update it. Although self-promotion is limited to the Book Bazaar, most of our authors have found the best way to promote their books is to be as active throughout KindleBoards as time allows. This is your target audience--book lovers with Kindles!

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Book Bazaar Moderators

_The fine print:
Please add to your existing book thread when you have news about your book rather than start a new one, it helps the members who are trying to follow you. You may have a separate thread for each of your books. We recommend you bookmark your post so that you can find it in the future.  You may respond to all posts, but if there have been no member posts, we ask that you wait a week before "bumping" the thread by posting back-to-back posts of your own. And we ask that Amazon reviews not be repeated here as they are easy to find at your book link. Also, full reviews from other sites should not be posted here, but you may post a short blurb and a link to the full review instead. All this, and more, is included in our Forum Decorum. From time to time our site rules may change; be sure to check Forum Decorum (http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,36.0.html) for the current guidelines and rules. _


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## Emily King (Jun 9, 2009)

Hi Karen! I actually just bought your book last week and read it over the holiday weekend! I found it in one of the discussion threads (amazon) for Janet Evanovich's newest book as a suggestion for people who really enjoyed the earlier books in her series. It was a very good read and I enjoyed it very much.  I will be working on a review for it to post over on Amazon soon... My mom and sister are also on the same account and will be reading it in the near future.  

Thanks for the great read!


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## Joel Arnold (May 3, 2010)

Karen - I love the title!

Joel


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

I just posted a review on Amazon. They've been loading them up almost instantly even though they tell you that you have to wait.

Here's the link.

http://www.amazon.com/Monkeys-Barbara-Murder-Mystery-ebook/product-reviews/B003SE7O40/ref=cm_cr_dp_synop?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending#R3R6WRN3UKFW6W


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

Thank you for the welcome, Betsy & Ann. Many thanks as well for providing this avenue for everyone to announce their titles. It means a lot.

Emily -- Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. (It is such a relief every time someone says they liked it!) Thank you, also, in advance for writing a review. It's greatly appreciated.

Joel -- glad you like the title.  Number three in the series will be _Silenced by the Yams_.

Gertie -- I just read the review and I can't thank you enough. And yes, I am half way through the second in the series -- Citizen Insane. All the good characters return plus a couple of new wild and whacky fellows. 

Thanks again!


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## Debra L Martin (Apr 8, 2010)

Congrats Karen.  Your reviews are great.  I hope you get a good bounce on Friday when your interview posts.

Way to go!


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

Really enjoyed the book, posted a review at Amazon. Waiting for more in the series!


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

intinst said:


> Really enjoyed the book, posted a review at Amazon. Waiting for more in the series!


Yes -- I saw the review! Thank you so much.  My goal is to have Citizen Insane out before Christmas. Thanks again!

Deb -- thank you again for the interview. Hopefully I'll be able to send some blog readers your way as well. Will announce the interview broadly. Have a good weekend!

-- Karen


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

karencantwell said:


> Greetings! My name is Karen Cantwell and I just recently published my novel, *Take the Monkeys and Run*, on Kindle. Not exactly a cozy, this book is more of the "medium-boiled" variety.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Monkeys-Barbara-Murder-Mystery-ebook/dp/B003SE7O40
> 
> ...


The title of your book is simply AWESOME! I love it! I'm thinking of stealing it and replacing it with something like "Monkeys for Sale" or something so I can write a new book with that name. Ha! Just kidding. Good luck with your sales. You should sell simply on the name alone.


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

Brendan Carroll said:


> The title of your book is simply AWESOME! I love it! I'm thinking of stealing it and replacing it with something like "Monkeys for Sale" or something so I can write a new book with that name. Ha! Just kidding. Good luck with your sales. You should sell simply on the name alone.


Thanks.  There's something about monkeys that catches people's interest, isn't there? In fact, I wrote the book after a neighbor told me her story of finding monkeys playing on the roof of her house soon after she moved in. It was in the late 1960's and her house was the first on the street. It was a very mysterious event -- a group of men in lab coats driving an unidentified van showed up, scooped up the monkeys and never told her where they came from. That story stuck with me and I just HAD to do something with it! Monkeys in a Northern Virginia suburb. I need to go talk to my neighbor and see if she has anymore stories . . .


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

karencantwell said:


> Thanks.  There's something about monkeys that catches people's interest, isn't there? In fact, I wrote the book after a neighbor told me her story of finding monkeys playing on the roof of her house soon after she moved in. It was in the late 1960's and her house was the first on the street. It was a very mysterious event -- a group of men in lab coats driving an unidentified van showed up, scooped up the monkeys and never told her where they came from. That story stuck with me and I just HAD to do something with it! Monkeys in a Northern Virginia suburb. I need to go talk to my neighbor and see if she has anymore stories . . .


That is too cool. We never know where inspiration will come from.


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## Louann Carroll (Feb 24, 2010)

Hi, Karen! Another Amazon Breakthrough Novel person here! Congratulations on your book! I can't wait to read it. Make sure Amazon adds you to their Breakthough Novel list of books in print. I'll be sure and post a review.


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## Sofie (Dec 30, 2008)

Karen,

I loved your book. Can't wait for the next one!


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

Louann Carroll said:


> Hi, Karen! Another Amazon Breakthrough Novel person here! Congratulations on your book! I can't wait to read it. Make sure Amazon adds you to their Breakthough Novel list of books in print. I'll be sure and post a review.


Hi Louann! Great to see you here.  I didn't know about the Breakthrough Novel list. Would I go to the ABNA page? I'm going to check out your book right now.

Sofie -- thank you so much. It's a relief every time someone says they liked the book. ALWAYS makes my day.


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

I'm excited to share that I just received my first online review from Jenny Mounfield at The Compulsive Reader. She said many nice things, but my favorite was: "it is essentially well-written with engaging, often larger than life characters, and most importantly is laugh out loud funny." YAY!  The full review is here: http://www.compulsivereader.com/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2550.

Thanks to all who have read, enjoyed and reviewed! It means a lot.

-- Karen


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Very nice review, Karen.


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

Thank you.


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

For anyone interested -- I just dropped the price of *Take the Monkeys and Run *to .99 cents.  But for a short time only. It goes back up to $2.99 on August 15th.

Cheers!

-- Karen


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## Louann Carroll (Feb 24, 2010)

Hi, Karen: Sorry it took so long for me to get back to you. I've been on vacation. Go to the Amazon Breakthrough Novel page and on the right hand side there is a link to Breakthrough Novelists in Print. Click on that. If you're not there, which I don't think you are, but I'll go check right now, OK, you're not there. On the forum page, there is a place you can add your name and link and they will post your book. 

Free advertising! Might as well take advantage of it. 

Best of luck to you!

Louann


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

Louann - Thank you for that. I'll go check it out.

Fun news on the monkey front: Take the Monkeys and Run was the Bargain Book of the Day on Kindlerama.com Monday, Aug 9th (yay!) and a new reader review called the book "Hysterical!"

If you were thinking of buying it, now is the time while it's still .99 cents. It goes back up to $2.99 10 pm on August 15th.

And a big "Thank you" to all the readers out there. You make this job fun.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Today's featured author at the Indie Spotlight is

Sunday: Karen Cantwell - Take the Monkeys and Run

http://www.theindiespotlight.com

Come up and read and leave a comment.
.
Edward C. Patterson
& Gregory B. Banks


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## 13500 (Apr 22, 2010)

Hey, Karen C.!

Did you see? You are on the Movers and Shakers list!

Congratulations,
Karen W.B.


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

Karen! I just found this post today. I missed myself on the movers and shakers list! Darn! I knew I was selling well though.  Thanks for letting me know. How exciting.

More exciting news: I just received a wonderful review from Lee Libro at Literary Magic. Made my day. That and finding out about the Movers and Shakers list! Here's the link: http://tiny.cc/cbjdk.

Word to readers - I'm still offering Take the Monkeys and Run at the .99 cent price until I release my Barbara Marr short story collection in late September.

thanks! Karen Cantwell


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

I'll look forward to the anthology. Just in time for the pre-holiday lull. 

I copied my review of "Monkeys" to the UK store.


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake' said:


> I'll look forward to the anthology. Just in time for the pre-holiday lull.
> 
> I copied my review of "Monkeys" to the UK store.


Thank you!  I need to purchase something from the UK store so I can start tagging and reviewing there. It's on my list of things to do after getting the kids back to school . . .

Thanks again -- Karen


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Mine have been back to school for a week. I haven't caught my breath yet.


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

Oh, I know -- I always forget that once school actually starts, then things get so busy, that I STILL don't have time!  We need to figure out how to live without sleep.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

karencantwell said:


> Oh, I know -- I always forget that once school actually starts, then things get so busy, that I STILL don't have time! We need to figure out how to live without sleep.


Get old. Old folks don't need as much sleep, or so they tell me. Of course, by that time, we should be able to enjoy sleeping as late as we want.


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

It's official!  I have finally set a launch date for The Chronicles of Marr-nia, Starring Barbara Marr.  This collection of Barbara Marr short stories will be available on Kindle Friday, October 15th.

Whew!  I was afraid to commit to a date, but I had to do it sometime.  

In the meantime, Take the Monkeys and Run will remain at the sale price of .99 cents and will go back up to $2.99 October 16th.  I continue to get really wonderful reviews for Take the Monkeys and Run -- readers say over and over again that it makes them laugh and that it is an entertaining read.  So if you're looking for a fast and funny read, give it a try!

As always, thanks for letting me talk about my work!

Karen Cantwell


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## D. B. Henson (Apr 27, 2010)

I just finished reading _Take the Monkeys and Run_, and it was fantastic! Here's the review I posted on Amazon and Goodreads:

I absolutely loved _Take the Monkeys and Run (A Barbara Marr Murder Mystery)_. Barbara Marr is an average suburban soccer mom with three kids and a husband who has decided he "needs space". When five monkeys show up in the trees in Barbara's back yard, she decides to find out how they got there. When she makes a gruesome discovery in the basement of the vacant house next door, things really get interesting.

Karen Cantwell's novel is one of the best comedic mysteries I've read. Her writing is flawless and her heroine is quirky and endearing. I'm really looking forward to another Barbara Marr mystery.

Thank you for a terrific book, Karen! Keep them coming!


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Karen,

Amazon recommended Take the Monkeys and Run to me while I was making another purchase.  I couldn't resist.  Great title!  And being set in Virginia was another hook for me.

Added to the To Be Read pile...

Betsy


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

THANK YOU SO MUCH D.B. for that wonderful endorsement.    It's such a joy to know I AM entertaining people!

And I truly hope you enjoy it as well, Betsy.  The town of Rustic Woods is actually modeled after a real Northern Virginia suburb, so I'll be interested to see if you can guess which one!  

Thanks again, ladies.


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## KenHattaway (Oct 7, 2010)

Karen--Just started reading your book. It's a fast, fun read so far. You should definitely talk to your neighbor to see if she has any more story ideas. Can you give us an overview of what Citizen Insane is about, or is it still being written?


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## Anne Victory (Jul 29, 2010)

I've been meaning to sample this - the title cracks me up.  Just noticed the price - I'll grab it tonight


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## Dana Taylor (Jan 8, 2010)

I read it while I was on vacation last week.  Great fun!

Dana Taylor


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

Ken - I'm glad you're enjoying! The idea for Citizen Insane was inspired by another person and while I can't divulge too much, I will say a member of the PTA gets murdered. (YIKES!)

Dana - Thank you for reading. I love it when people say it was fun - that's exactly what I was going for. 

Arkali - I'm glad you liked the title. I played around with it for quite a while. Originally it was Monkeys in My Trees, but that just didn't have the punch I was going for. Hope you like the book!

If anyone is interested, I'm holding a paperback giveaway of Take the Monkeys and Run at my blog, http://fictionfordessert.blogspot.com. 

Thanks!
Karen


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## Anne Victory (Jul 29, 2010)

Hi, Karen,
Just finished!  Wow - great read   I'm a bit   that Book 2 isn't out already   Anyway, I posted a review for you on Amazon (Anne Victory) and I'll cross-post to GoodReads and facebook.  I'm still giggling, by the way - really good!


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

Thanks so much!  That was a wonderful review - I'm REALLY glad you enjoyed it.  If you're still giggling, I think I did my job!    I'm putting the finishing touches on The Chronicles of Marr-nia (four Barbara Marr short stories) then it's to work finishing book #2, Citizen Insane, so rest assured, there will be more Barbara Marr coming soon. 

Thank you again.  

Karen


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## Anne Victory (Jul 29, 2010)

karencantwell said:


> Thanks so much! That was a wonderful review - I'm REALLY glad you enjoyed it. If you're still giggling, I think I did my job!  I'm putting the finishing touches on The Chronicles of Marr-nia (four Barbara Marr short stories) then it's to work finishing book #2, Citizen Insane, so rest assured, there will be more Barbara Marr coming soon.
> 
> Thank you again.
> 
> Karen


Awesome  If you don't mind, feel free to send me PMs when they're available, just in case I miss your bazaar post. I'll definitely get them both


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

Arkali said:


> Awesome  If you don't mind, feel free to send me PMs when they're available, just in case I miss your bazaar post. I'll definitely get them both


Will do.


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## JennaAnderson (Dec 25, 2009)

Ah - I was looking for this thread and ended up posting a note under the cozy mystery area. I plan to buy your book this Friday. It looks great! Can't wait to read it.

Jenna


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

Thank you, Jenna! I hope you like it. 

For those of you have viewed my book video (or even if you haven't) - between today, October 21 and Tuesday, Oct 26, people can vote for my Take the Monkeys and Run trailer over at You Gotta Read Videos. VOTE for #5, if you please!  The video is there for viewing as well - it's just 30 seconds - fast and funny, like the book.

http://yougottareadvideos.blogspot.com

THANKS!

Karen


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Hey!  WHEN will the anthology be out?  I don't read a lot of short stories anymore, but I'll make an exception in your case!!!


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

Maria - you make me laugh.  SOON on the short story collection.    Hopefully a week or less . . . 

I'd post the cover image, but sadly, I can't figure out how to do that!  

Karen


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

To help honor our veterans, I will be donating all royalties of my _Take the Monkeys and Run_ sales from November 11 to November 18, to the charity, Homes for Our Troops. They offer funds and manpower to help adapt the homes for returning, injured vets. 
http://www.homesforourtroops.org/site/PageServer.

It really is a great, and worthwhile cause.


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## Toby (Nov 25, 2008)

I just saw this thread & I wanted to tell you that I bought your book last week.


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

Thanks, Toby! I hope you like it. 

A quick shout-out to everyone about a fun contest I'm running. I'm calling it the Insane Character Contest -- people can enter a chance to be one of two characters in the next Barbara Marr novel, _Citizen Insane_.

I hope people will pop over and enter! http://fictionfordessert.blogspot.com/2010/11/contest-be-insane-character.html

And Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Karen


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## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

I'm pleased to announce that Take the Monkeys and Run is our next KB Book of the Day!


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

Thank you for the opportunity!  

Karen


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

You look great at the top of the world!


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

Thanks, Maria! Hey, by the way - I love the way your new Executive Retention cover looks here. Great colors! They work well.

I thought I'd take this opportunity for those who haven't read _Take the Monkeys and Run_, to get a little taste of Barbara Marr, by posting the first few paragraphs from Chapter One:

The sky was black, my toes were numb and I was a lunatic.

Forgetting that our recent October nights had turned colder, I had set out on my mission barefoot. I had no idea what the thermometer said, but the ice cold brick beneath my unprotected feet told me plenty. And my worn-thin-through-the-years knit jammies were certainly no match against the biting air. Evidently I had left my brains in the house along with my shoes and down-filled parka. Indiana Jones, our orange Tabby, followed me and purred while he rubbed against my legs, offering a tinge of warmth at best.

I squinted into the darkness. "Three thirty in the morning. Am I totally insane, Indy?"

"Mew."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

Yes, I'm a grown woman and I talk to my cat. What's the big deal? My cousin Samson the psychiatrist tells the family I'm delusional and should be medicated. Pshaw I say. Samson has a psychiatrist of his own as well as a far more disturbing obsession with large farm animals, so I severely doubt his legitimacy. As long as Indiana Jones talks to me, I'll keep talking to him.

My name is Barbara Marr. I'm not a lady coroner, bounty hunter or crime scene investigator. I don't fight vampires, werewolves or flesh-eating zombies destined to destroy humanity. Even worse, I don't knit, sew, bake gourmet goodies for sweet English ladies or refinish houses then flip them for a profit. In fact, I lack a veritable encyclopedia of talents and accomplishments. I have managed to give birth to three children, but when my teenage daughter looks at me like I'm an alien from the planet Freak, I wonder at my parenting abilities.

Then of course there is my marriage. Not long ago I would have bragged to anyone about our solid bond. True love. True fidelity and commitment. That was before Howard dropped the bomb and moved out. So perpetuating matrimony can be added to the list of things I don't do.

When reviewing the list of lifetime achievements for which I am proud, being mother to my three girls sits at the very top, followed by the time I saw Yul Brenner in a convenience store and discreetly let him know he had ketchup on his chin. He was so thankful that he autographed a bag of Fritos for me.And most recently I got familiar with the video camera again and shot a music video with my daughters. We called it _Four White Girls Do Madonna._ I posted it on You-Tube and got over twenty-five views. It was very exciting. Still, I'm not exactly setting the world on fire.

So when Howard left, I decided it was time to resurrect my dream and write about movies. I love the movies. Old movies, new movies, musicals, dramas, comedies, westerns, action, science-fiction, and anything starring Meryl Streep. Some years ago, in between changing diapers and potty training, I had bought a domain name, ChickAtTheFlix.com, with the intention of building a movie review website. I kept the domain name, but got side-tracked by little things like ear infections, strep throat, pre-school, elementary school and baby number three. Now, with my life deteriorating before my eyes, the time had come to take the bull by the proverbial horns and start anew.
______

As you may guess - things only go downhill for Barb from there! Currently, several Amazon Customer reviewers have compared _Take the Monkeys and Run_ to the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum books (those kind of reviews REALLY make my day, I have to say!) - so if you like fast and funny reads, I hope you will try this one. 

Thanks 
Karen


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## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

Karen's book is selling so well, I don't think it needs much help from the Book of the Day promotion!! Here's the current bestseller ranking:

#339 Paid in Kindle Store
    * #12 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Action & Adventure
    * #14 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Women Sleuths
    * #15 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Action & Adventure

Impressive!


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

Thanks Harvey!  I'm having a particularly good day today and I know it's because of the the Book of the Day promotion.  

Now I can have a great Thanksgiving.  Last I checked - #327 Paid in Kindle Store!


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## terryr (Apr 24, 2010)

Whoohoo!


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## VickiT (May 12, 2010)

Hi Karen,

I've heard many good things about _Take the Monkeys and Run _ and have had it on my TBR list for a while, but hadn't actually bought it.

Just 1-Clicked! 

Wishing you much success.

Cheers,
Vicki


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

Thanks, Vicki!  I hope you like it.      I have Thin Blood and can't wait to get to it.


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## joanhallhovey (Nov 7, 2010)

Karen, what a great title, Take the Monkey and Run.  congrats on getting the Amazon nod for your breakthrough novel.

Continued success.


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## Toby (Nov 25, 2008)

I finished your book. Funny. I liked the part where Barbara imitates the "man", in his way of talking. Won't say here as not to spoil it for others.


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

As I read this thread, I thought "this looks like a good book" so I went to find it on Amazon only to discover I bought it last month! Now off to READ it!


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## PraiseGod13 (Oct 27, 2008)

Bought my copy of Take the Monkeys and Run.... how could anyone resist buying that title??  I also thought, "This author's book titles sound like such great reading" so I also picked up The Chronicles of Marr-nia and look forward to reading them both.


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

@ Toby - thanks! I'm so glad you liked it. That part you talked about was one of my more favorite scenes, actually!

To others who have purchased - I so hope you enjoy! 

_Take the Monkeys and Run_ has received a wonderful review from Yvonne at Socrates Book Reviews, so I thought I would share the link here: http://socratesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2010/12/take-monkeys-and-run-barbara-marr.html. This review really made my day. 

I hope everyone has had a nice weekend --

Karen


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## JackNolte (Oct 28, 2010)

Yeah, that title alone is worth the price of the book.  

~Jack


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## 13500 (Apr 22, 2010)

Hi, Karen.

I bought several copies of your paperback for Christmas presents. Who would not want to read such a fun book?

Ho. Ho. Ho.


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

Glad you like the title, Jack!    The next one is Citizen Insane, and after that is Silenced by the Yams.

Karen B - THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!  I'm so excited you enjoyed it that much.


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

Take the Monkeys and Run just received a very nice review from Debra L. Martin on her blog Two Ends of the Pen. It really made my day. 

http://twoendsofthepen.blogspot.com/2010/12/review-of-take-monkeys-and-run-by-karen.html

She has a really wonderful blog there - if you haven't checked it out before, you should!

I'm sending my very best wishes to everyone for a Happy Holiday Season,

Karen


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

I'm very excited to announce that _Take the Monkeys and Run_ just received a 5 star review by Syria Says.

Among other things, she said: "_Take the Monkeys and Run_ by Karen Cantwell could easily become one of my favorite books of all time. But, I won't say that because then she might write something else and then I'd be made into a liar and I just can't have that on my conscience! But, I will say it is definitely up there and I would whole-heartedly recommend this to anyone who enjoys mystery, mayhem and monkeys!"

You can read the full review at http://www.syriasays.com

For anyone who hasn't read it yet, it's still just .99 cents on Kindle.


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## Joel Arnold (May 3, 2010)

I started reading this last night and am enjoying the heck out of it!
Joel


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## Valerie Maarten (Jan 14, 2011)

Karen, it doesn't surprise me that you had those awesome ranking on the Amazon.  This is a wonderful book.  Congrats on the great sales.  Now everyone is learning what a great and humorous writer you are.  Loved it.


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## Dana Taylor (Jan 8, 2010)

I read this book on vacation.  It made a good time even more fun.

Dana Taylor


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## BarbaraSilkstone (Feb 18, 2010)

Happy Dance for Karen Cantwell and her fun book... Take the Monkeys and Run.
Made it into the top 100 today!
Good job!


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## PraiseGod13 (Oct 27, 2008)

Awesome news! Kongrats, Karen!! Glad I got my copy!!
Happy Dance time:


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## 13500 (Apr 22, 2010)

WOOT!

Awesome news. Congratulations, Karen!


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

Thank you for those congratulations on hitting the top 100!  It was nice while it lasted!

If anyone is interested, I'm featured today on Simon Royle's blog - his famous Indieviews. I'm a real fan of his interviews. I hope you'll stop by for a read - and if you leave a comment, you can enter a chance to win a free copy of TAKE THE MONKEYS AND RUN!

http://www.simon-royle.com/2011/02/21/indieview-with-karen-cantwell-author-of-take-the-monkeys-and-run/

Thanks again!

Karen


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

Good morning everyone!

If you have read TAKE THE MONKEYS AND RUN and enjoyed it/liked it/loved it . . . could you vote today at Daily Cheap Reads?
It is up against some other books for favorite DCR bestseller.

http://www.dailycheapreads.com

Thanks so much!



Karen


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## 13500 (Apr 22, 2010)

Voted. Good luck, Karen.


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

TAKE THE MONKEYS AND RUN just received a 4.5 Star review at Red Adept Reviews! Needless to say, I am very proud and excited.  The reviewer especially liked my writing style and the characters. He said, "It was just plain fun." And to me, that's what my book was meant to be, so I couldn't be happier.

You can read the entire review here: http://redadeptreviews.com/?p=5138

Thanks!

And for those who have read TAKE THE MONKEYS AND RUN, the second in the series, CITIZEN INSANE, will be released VERY soon!

Best,
Karen Cantwell


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## ScottLCollins (Dec 7, 2009)

karencantwell said:


> To help honor our veterans, I will be donating all royalties of my _Take the Monkeys and Run_ sales from November 11 to November 18, to the charity, Homes for Our Troops. They offer funds and manpower to help adapt the homes for returning, injured vets.
> http://www.homesforourtroops.org/site/PageServer.
> 
> It really is a great, and worthwhile cause.


Hope you don't mind, but I borrowed your charity for my May sales.  Great cause. Thank you for showing your support for our troops!


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## karencantwell (Jun 17, 2010)

I wanted to pass along a really wonderful review for TAKE THE MONKEYS AND RUN - this one by Lisa at Her Book Self:

"_Take the Monkeys and Run_ is a smart and witty book that is as charming as it is suspenseful. The plot twists and turns are delightfully unpredictable and layered with a great blend of intrigue and comedy. Barbara Marr was a freshly unique protagonist, too. She is an everyday woman yet there is nothing vanilla about her character or her life. Facing extraordinary circumstances, she summons both courage and brain power while demonstrating the strength of her heart as well as her sense of humor.

Karen Cantwell excels at creating a fun and engaging novel with this work. The characters were well-developed, the story well-told, and even though the plot wraps up nicely, I left the book eager for more. Cantwell is definitely an author to keep an eye on and if her future works are as entertaining as Take the Monkeys and Run, a long and successful writing career is surely in her future!"

You can read the entire review at: http://herbookself.blogspot.com/2011/06/take-monkeys-and-run-indie-in-summer.html. Tomorrow she will be posting an interview as well! 

Since first making TAKE THE MONKEYS AND RUN available for sale on Kindle one year ago (June 15th, 2010), I feel privileged to have sold over 35,000 copies and to have received 107 Amazon Customer Reviews.


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