By Marguerite Schauer
Murphy News Service 

Tamara Hughes has always read romance novels. So it’s no small deal that the Brooklyn Park resident had her first e-novel, “Once Upon a Masquerade,” published last month.

While reading one day, Hughes asked herself: “Why didn’t I try and write one of them, I have enough imagination.” It was at that moment she decided to turn her dream into reality.

She discovered her love for writing after she decided to cut back the time she was spending at her job. Hughes was able to write more when they were in school. That is when “Once Upon a Masquerade” was born.

Hughes, the mother of two, was “missing the creative outlet [she] needed,” It was on her maternity leave that she first began thinking about writing a book. She put her plan into action and never gave up. Her children, Brenna and Megan, are now 18 and 15 respectively and attend Osseo High School.

At 200-pages-plus “Once Upon a Masquerade” the author compares it to a “Cinderella Murder Mystery.” The audience was originally geared toward romance readers but Hughes’ love for history also flowed through her story’s pages. The book has been attracting not only romance lovers, but history buffs too, she said.

Hughes’ love for writing was put to the test she when had to shorten the length of her book drastically to sell it. She began the writing process for “Once Upon a Masquerade” about nine years ago. She said she spent about four years writing and editing the book.

And Hughes has had two other books in the works during those nine years; one a paranormal romance and the other a pirate romance. Neither has been published, but the pirate romance has been submitted to her editor. The paranormal romance is still in the editing process.

“Once Upon a Masquerade” is available on Amazon as an e-book for $2.99. It will be in print circulation in the next few months, Hughes said.

Marguerite Schauer is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota.