Road Tales - The Model

I'm frequently asked where I found the model for Road Tales. Here is the story.

I was playing with Spade McQuade and the All Stars at the Fly's Tie Irish pub. I always set up stage left. We were playing away when this chick entered the club and sat in the pew bench against the wall on my side of the stage. I got chills. I shook my head. I may even have rubbed my eyes. I hadn't drank much at that point and we hadn't gone out back for a "safety" meeting yet.
Chills ran all over my body. I smiled and nodded to her. She smiled and nodded back. Could it be? Was it possible? Was I caught in some weird time warp placing me back in 1970?
I was looking at Patty O'Leary, my high school girlfriend and first true love. I was stunned.
At the break I went directly to their table. She was there with a girlfriend named Jessica. I introduced myself and instantly realize that this wasn't actually Patty, but the resemblance was still striking.
I assured her that I wasn't a creepy old guy and that this wasn't some lame pickup line, "but you look exactly like my high school sweetheart." She giggled and said that she had no worries.
We set up a date and time for her to model and did the shoot at my home. I urged her to invite a friend or bodyguard, but she felt safe with us.
Erik Blackwater used a Canon Digital with an image stabilizer lens to shoot our "Patty". Although she is not actually a model she performed perfectly.
After the unexpected success of Road Tales - Rode Tails we invited Ashley back for a shoot to support Road Tales - Rocky Rhodes. She is the face on the cover of the book and spread throughout the interior. Again, Erik Blackwater used the Canon Digital 35mm for the shoot.
Things always seem to fall together for me. I never force things. I don't have to. Ashley appeared just as I was completing Rode Tails. I hadn't even considered including pictures in the book before I met her. Once I met her the course was clear. She was sent to me by the winds of fate.