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A neighborhood bar is a peculiar thing. The people who frequent it develop a rapport, a kind of familiarity that makes them feel ownership. 

But time rolls on, and no place is untouched by the changes it brings — not the bar nor the people in it. 

Texas native Callie Collins knows a thing or two about bars. That’s why she set her newest novel, “

,” in an Austin saloon, circa 1970s Texas. The story unfolds from three different viewpoints: the lead guitarist of the new house band; the bar owner trying to help the establishment and herself find a future; and a kid from East Texas desperate for direction and kinship. 

Collins talks bars, the blues and belonging with host Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas. 

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Callie Collins’ new novel is a blues song in literary form, set in a saloon in 1970s Austin, Texas. What happens when the need to belong collides with a world that just keeps moving on? 

'Walk Softly on This Heart of Mine'

An author photo and the cover of "Walk Softly on This Heart of Mine"

‘Walk Softly on This Heart of Mine’ talks about bars, the blues and belonging

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