Bob Mayer (author)

Robert Mayer (born October 21, 1959) is a ''New York Times''-bestselling author and the CEO of Cool Gus Publishing. He is a West Point graduate and former Green Beret. Mayer has authored over 60 novels in multiple genres, selling more than 4 million books, including the #1 series ''Area 51'', ''Atlantis'', and ''The Green Berets''. He has written under the pen names Joe Dalton, Robert Doherty, Greg Donegan, and Bob McGuire. He holds the distinction of being the only male author on the Romance Writers of America Honor Roll.

Early life

Robert John "Bob" Mayer was born in the Bronx, New York City on October 21, 1959. After high school, Mayer was accepted to the United States Military Academy at West Point. There, he graduated with honors in the top 10 percent of his class, earning a BA in psychology in 1981. He later earned a master's degree in Education at Austin Peay State University.

In the Army, Mayer served in the infantry with the 1st Cavalry Division, later as platoon leader and a brigade recon platoon leader. He joined Special Forces and commanded a Green Berets A-Team from 1984 to 1988. He served as the operations officer for 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and with Special Operations Command (Special Projects) in Hawaii. He later taught Green Beret recruits at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School in Fort Bragg, NC.

Mayer is an honor graduate of the Special Forces Qualification Course, the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School Instructor Training Course and the Danish Royal Navy Fromandkorpset. He is a Master Parachutist/Jumpmaster Qualified and graduated from the International Mountain Climbing School. He has completed 14 marathons, including qualifying for the Boston Marathon and running it three times.

Writing career

Mayer's prolific writing encompasses both his military experience and his fascination for history, legends and mythology. To date, he has published over 65 titles. Though most of his novels reside within the realm of science fiction, he has crossed successfully into multiple genres including historical, military, suspense, young adult and romance. His books have hit on numerous bestselling lists including ''The New York Times'', ''USA Today'', ''The Wall Street Journal'', and ''Publishers Weekly''.

Mayer began his writing career in 1991 with the Green Beret novel ''Eyes of the Hammer''. The next year, he followed with his second novel, ''Dragon Sim-13''. A total of 9 books have been written in the series.

In 1997, under his pen name Robert Doherty, Mayer released ''Area 51''. He wrote eight sequels to ''Area 51'' from 1998 to 2004. Four more were published from 2018 to 2020.

In September 2004, Mayer met romance novelist Jennifer Crusie at a writer's conference in Maui. The pair collaborated on a series of military-themed romance novels, including ''Don't Look Down'' (2006), ''Agnes and the Hitman'' (2007), and ''Wild Ride'' (2009). Mayer and Crusie's collaborations took place via email, with Mayer writing from the male perspective and Crusie writing those scenes that involved the female perspective. ''Agnes and the Hitman'' became a NYT bestseller, earning Mayer a spot on the Romance Writers of America Honor Roll.

In 2009, Mayer realized a digital transition in the publishing industry was happening. Along with Jen Talty, Mayer formed Cool Gus Publishing (formerly Who Dares Wins Publishing) in 2010 as a platform to reissue his extensive backlist. Cool Gus Publishing authors currently include Colin Falconer, Jennifer Probst, Janice Maynard, and Amy Shojai.

Mayer has also written five books in the ''Nightstalkers'' series for the Amazon Publishing imprint 47North.

In addition to his writing and publishing career, Mayer has been a speaker at the Maui Writer's Conference. He holds workshops and seminars on the leadership tactics learned in his Green Beret training. He has been featured in ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''Forbes'', ''Sports Illustrated'', PBS, NPR, the Military Channel and the SyFy Channel.

Personal life

Bob Mayer lives in Tennessee with his wife and their English Yellow Lab, Cool Gus and their newest addition, Scout the dog. His most recent books include the ''Time Patrol'' series, featuring characters from both ''The Nightstalkers'' and ''The Cellar'' series of books.

Bibliography

Fiction

''The Green Berets'' (1991–2024)

Featuring the United States Army Special Forces, known colloquially as The Green Berets. Organized into three sub-series by readers.

= Dave Riley novels

=

Novels featuring protagonist Dave Riley. Published by Presidio Press. Not all printings include a number stamp.

= Horace Chase novels

=

Novels featuring protagonist Horace Chase. Volume numbers continue from the Dave Riley series. Published by Cool Gus. Not all printings include a number stamp.

= Will Kane novels

=

Featuring protagonist Will Kane. Published by Cool Gus. Marketed as ''The Green Berets: Will Kane''. Not all printings include a number stamp.

''Area 51'' (1997–2020)

''Area 51'' military science fiction series as by 'Robert Doherty'. Originally published by Dell. The series was revised and reprinted by Cool Gus beginning in 2014. Not all printings include a number stamp.

= ''The Nightstalkers'' (2012–2015)

=

''Area 51: The Nightstalkers'' military science fiction series as by 'Bob Mayer'. Not all printings include a number stamp.

= ''Time Patrol'' (2015–2020)

=

The series began as ''Area 51: Time Patrol''. Later editions moved away from the Area 51 premise. Printings do not include number stamps. Mayer includes ''Time Patrol'' (2015) as the first novel in the series.

''Atlantis'' (1999–2003)

Military science fiction series as by 'Greg Donegan' and later 'Robert Doherty'. Originally published by Berkley. The series was revised and reprinted by Cool Gus beginning in 2010 with the release of ''Battle for Atlantis''. Not all printings include a number stamp.

''Shadow Warriors'' (2011–2018)

Revised editions bundled as the ''Shadow Warriors'' series. Novels were previously marketed as part of the ''Final Gambit'', ''Black Ops'', ''Black Ops: Shadow Warriors'' series.

''Duty, Honor, Country'' (2013–14)

Published as ebook exclusives.

Non-fiction

Notes

"Is there gold in your backlist? Self-publish and find out!"
by Alan Rinzler Forbes 5/18/11

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayer, Bob
1959 births
20th-century American novelists
21st-century American novelists
American alternate history writers
American fantasy writers
American male novelists
American romantic fiction writers
American science fiction writers
American thriller writers
Living people
United States Military Academy alumni
Writers from New York City
20th-century American male writers
21st-century American male writers
Novelists from New York (state)