I don't see why she felt she needed a 7-8 month break, everyone was thirsty for her. The most logical plan was to release "Dance In The Dark" in August/September, as it was WW. While her label could've released "Monster" in December, I would think that would've underperformed due to "Born This Way" hype, or the hype for "Born This Way" would've been lower, and it wouldn't have debuted at #1.
Dance In the Dark would've been a good single choice too.