Texas Booksellers Find Winning Combinations

"What's not to love about books and wine?" said Pam Headrick, co-owner of A Thirsty Mind Words & Wines in Lakeway, Texas. The retired archeologist and illustrator and her business partner, Anita Mapes, a retired nutritionist, have found them to be the perfect combination for their 1,500-square-foot store. Located in a beamed building that matches the early 1980s resort architecture of the surrounding area, A Thirsty Mind's wine bar and full schedule of events draw a crowd in the affluent bedroom community of Austin. The store also features an unofficial writer-in-residence, romance novelist Julie Ortolon.

Since its opening in 2004, A Thirsty Mind's "very elegant" ash wine bar has become a hot spot for locals. "Usually at around four o'clock, we have our regulars come in," explained Headrick, "and they have all kinds of philosophical, scientific, political, and religious discussions."

Co-owners Anita Mapes and Pam Headrick with "writer-in-residence" Julie Ortolon at the wine bar.

Among the regulars is Ortolon (Almost Perfect, Signet). Since introducing herself and then organizing a well-attended roundtable discussion with other local romance writers, she and Hendrick have become friends and neighbors. Now Ortolon stops in at the store several times a week. "She's a fixture at the bookstore and wine bar," said Headrick.

It was there that Ortolon met local jazz singer Barbara Calderaro, who, along with her band, has been featured at Thirsty Mind's Concerts in the Park(ing Lot) -- which is sloped like stadium seating explained Headrick.

Ortolon's forthcoming book (Unforgettable, Signet Eclipse, September) mentions a number of jazz standards that Calderaro just happens to sing, so in another perfect pairing author and singer decided to collaborate on a book/CD project. The release party will, of course, be held at the bookstore. "Barbara and her band and Julie will be here. We'll have all kind of special wines. It should be a big event." The event will also mark the store's inaugural night as a jazz bar.

The backdrop of the wine bar is a large painting (currently featured in the banner at the top of the new BookWeb.org's subpages) created in the mid-1930s as part of the WPA mural project, Headrick said. "We think it's a fantastic piece and is a big draw for our shop. It was taken off the wall of a mercantile store in San Francisco ... sold at auction, and found by my brother rolled up in the back of a pickup truck at an outdoor flea market in North Texas several years ago.... How lucky was that!"

About the decision to become a bookseller, Headrick said, "We were both retired and bored and wanted to open a bookstore." To prepare, she and Mapes attended a Paz & Associates Booksellers School. "I can't imagine having opened without taking that class," she said.

Noting that wine and author events are a classic combination, Headrick explained, "We always make more money on wine than on selling books. It's just another hook, and it's been successful. Customers walk around with a glass of wine. It mellows them out, and they spend more money." --Karen Schechner