Joey Gellar and CLOCK STRIKES THREE by John Bradford Branney

The main premise of my latest book entitled Clock Strikes Three centers around the theme of  “Patient versus Doctor". I might add that Clock Strikes Three ties in well with the tried and true “Man versus Beast”.  I will let the readers decide whether the beast is the patient or the doctor, in this case the doctor is a well-known psychiatrist. 


In Clock Strikes Three, a young man, with a very checkered past, by the name of Joseph Gellar tries to match wits and intellect with a court-appointed psychiatrist named Dr. Holbrook Devon. Needless to say, Joey Gellar has his work cut out for him, facing the brilliant and manipulative Dr. Devon Holbrook. By the end of the book, each reader will have their own impression and judgement of the relationship between this psychiatrist and patient. I expect a diverse opinion about the ending since each of us bring our own experiences and paradigms into the book with us. Each of us should see characters from a book under our own light from life.

In this blog posting, let me first introduce you to the patient in this "Patient versus Psychiatrist" drama. Here is a passage from Chapter One of the book where readers get to meet Joey Gellar:  

Joseph or Joey Gellar was all of five foot seven inches tall and weighed one hundred thirty pounds soaking wet. He strutted down the sidewalk in front of the bar as if he owned the city. What Joey lacked in size, he made up in cockiness. When he reached the front door to the Muleskinner’s Ice House, he flung the door open, wanting to make a grand entrance. He sauntered across the stained wooden planks of the floor, looking like a puffed up cat in the midst of a pack of hungry dogs. His eyes burned from the thick cloud of cigarette and cigar smoke that hung in the air. His squinty eyes scanned the floor of the massive barroom. He was looking for someone he knew. Most of the bikers were crowded around a line of pool tables against the far wall. Posters of mostly-naked woman were plastered on the wall behind the pool tables. A few of the bikers looked up when Joey came in, but then never gave him a second thought. That was one of Joey’s problems; no one ever gave Joey Gellar a second thought.

Joey’s eyes prowled the barroom, checking out the groups of bikers in booths and standing around. It did not take him too long to find who he was looking for. How could he miss Big Bill standing at the bar, all six foot six and two hundred fifty pounds of him? Big Bill was conversing with another biker while puffing on a massive cigar. Joey could not just saunter over to Big Bill. He needed to know who was talking to Big Bill. Joey had to be careful. He owed money to more than a few people in the city and he sure did not want to walk up to one of his creditors, especially with his light wallet. In this lawless establishment, he could be risking life and limb. Joey tried to blend in with the wooden support column in the center of the barroom floor. He peeked out from behind it and spied on the two men. The unidentified man was facing away from Joey. All Joey could see was a baldpate on top of the man’s head and the thin strands of gray-colored hair coming together in a pitifully sparse ponytail running halfway down the man’s back. Through the thin veil of the ponytail, Joey could see that the man wore the same motorcycle club colors that Big Bill wore. Joey peered around. The last thing he wanted was another patron to catch him spying. He could end up in a dumpster somewhere. For an instant, Joey thought about making a run for it, a hasty retreat out of the bar, perhaps coming back at a different time or day. However, Joey stayed put. He did not run. His business with Big Bill was urgent. Finally, the man with the skimpy ponytail turned and headed towards the john at the other side of the barroom floor. Joey knew the man. 

Joey Gellar was twenty-six years old when Clock Strikes Three took place. His twenty-six years had

been pretty rough. He grew up in a single parent family. His father had abandoned the family early on, so Joey really did not even know his father. Growing up, he had no male role models to look up to. And his mother? Well, she was pretty much missing in action, as well. It was only Joey and his siblings attempting to survive. Since Joey was the eldest child, he pretty much had responsibility for his siblings. The Gellars never had any money and their home life was a disaster. Joey quit high school and in one of his smarter moves, he went back later for his GED.


Even though Joey took full responsibility for raising his siblings, his own life was an unmitigated mess. Joey’s feet never seemed to be grounded on any positive influences, besides his job. Bad people continued to manipulate and influence Joey Gellar’s actions, drawing him down the wrong path, time after time. Finally, his life bottomed out and a hard-nosed judge showed sympathy for Joey. The judge’s sentence of probation and the assignment of court-appointed psychiatrist Dr. Holbrook Devon to help Joey, just might finally be the ticket for turning Joey’s life around. This was Joey’s second...maybe third...probably sixth chance of turning his life around. Perhaps, all will end well for Joey Gellar in Clock Strikes Three. I am not telling! ;).    

In Clock Strikes Three, I hope that Joey is a character that readers will empathize with, a character who readers can root for.  The readers of Clock Strikes Three will face the same questions I did when I originally wrote the story. Will Joey finally be able to turn his tumultuous life around or was it too late? Will renowned psychiatrist Dr. Holbrook Devon help Joey? When I wrote Clock Strikes Three I did not know the answers to these questions until the characters took over the story and wrote the book for me. I, like you, discovered the answers to these questions, page by page. You will be surprised at how the characters ended this drama.  

Clock Strikes Three is available at all major booksellers, including Black Rose Writing, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. CLICK BELOW for Ordering Information.  

CLICK to ORDER Clock STRIKES Three