I wanted to set the story in a small town and I really liked the quaintness of Anoka,” said Kuehn. “I could see Pearl working around the historic buildings. I could see the Rum River.”

Tomorrow (Saturday, May 16) she will be signing books at Avant Garden in downtown Anoka from 4 to 7 p.m. and will read an excerpt from “Peripheral View” at 6 p.m.

The location of the signing is a good fit in more ways than one.

“It’s nice that my first signing is in a coffee shop, because those are places where I love to write,” said Kuehn. The hum people visiting over coffee give just enough energy to keep her focused while working on a story.

At the same time, the signing takes place on a Main Street that appears in her book.

“Peripheral View” is the story of Pearl, a woman living with severe epilepsy. She is in love with Sonny and wants to marry him – a relationship that shouldn’t have obstacles but it does. Pearl has lived her entire adult life in a health care facility and her sister, a senator, would like to keep it that way.

“It’s not a love story, it’s not a romance novel, but it definitely is a story about love,” said Kuehn.

The book is inspired by Kuehn’s aunt, who suffered from epilepsy, just like the protagonist, Pearl.

“This is a book about one woman’s fight for love and to live a life that is normal, a life that is not marginalized by epilepsy,” she said.

The story is set in 1989, at a time when treatment for epilepsy was advancing but there weren’t the kind of medications to control the disease that are available today.

But for all of her life, most people have been afraid to look at Pearl head-on.

“They see her from the side,” said Kuehn. “That’s why the book is called ‘Peripheral View’.”

Kuehn talked to her mother, whose sister Lucille Noonan inspired Pearl’s character, about recreating this piece of their family’s story in the book.

“It is truly fiction, there are no senators in our family,” she said. “I try to make sure my family realizes this is fiction – I take something and then dramatize it. My aunt was never mistreated by any members of our family.”

She started the book, being published by Langdon Street Press, seven years ago. During that time there have been revisions and edits, and she has a close group of acquaintances she trusts to give feedback on her work.

Kuehn, who lives on the Mississippi River in Champlin with her husband and daughter, says she has been a writer all of her life.

But 10 years ago she left the corporate world to pursue being a novelist. She has written two books before “Peripheral View.” Both murder mysteries, they have not been published.

However, this week she had the joy of unpacking several boxes of her own work.

“It was so exciting to experience that,” said Kuehn. “I just hope people enjoy the book and it offers up a way of looking at people differently.”

Right now, Kuehn is at work on another book, but she’s still doing research and finding direction.

Sometimes, choosing the story you want to write can be the hardest part.

“You really have to like it and believe it enough to stick with it for a couple of years,” she said.

“Peripheral View” is for sale at amazon.com and at Kuehn’s Web site Click here . It will soon be available in local bookstores.