Bob Mayer (author)
Robert Mayer 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 and with Special Operations Command 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, Agnes and the Hitman, and Wild Ride. 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 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.Fiction
| Title | As by... | Publisher | Date | ISBN | Notes |
| The Rock | Robert Doherty | Dell | December 1995 | Revised and republished in 2010. | |
| The Line | Bob McGuire | St. Martin's Press | December 1996 | Black Ops, Book 1; Revised and republished in 2013. | |
| The Gate | Bob McGuire | St. Martin's Press | September 1997 | Black Ops, Book 2; Revised and republished in 2015. | |
| The Omega Missle | Joe Dalton | St. Martin's Press | September 1998 | Revised and republished in 2011. | |
| The Omega Sanction | Joe Dalton | St. Martin's Press | November 1999 | Revised and republished in 2011. | |
| Psychic Warrior | Robert Doherty | Dell | August 2000 | Psychic Warrior, Book 1; Revised and republished in 2012 | |
| Project Aura | Robert Doherty | Dell | August 7, 2001 | Psychic Warrior, Book 2; Revised and republished in 2013 | |
| Bodyguard of Lies | Robert Doherty | Forge Books | March 1, 2005 | The Cellar, Book 1; Revised and republished in 2013 | |
| Section Eight | Robert Doherty | HarperTorch | September 27, 2005 | Jim Vaughn, Book 1; Revised and republished in 2015. | |
| The Citadel | Robert Doherty | HarperTorch | March 27, 2007 | Jim Vaughn, Book 2 | |
| Lost Girls | Robert Doherty | Forge Books | August 21, 2007 | The Cellar, Book 2; Revised and republished in 2013 | |
| Don't Look Down | Bob Mayer | St. Martin's Press | April 4, 2006 | with Jennifer Crusie | |
| Agnes and the Hitman | Bob Mayer | St. Martin's Press | August 21, 2007 | with Jennifer Crusie | |
| Wild Ride | Bob Mayer | St. Martin's Press | March 16, 2010 | with Jennifer Crusie | |
| I, Judas: The Fifth Gospel | Bob Mayer | Cool Gus | July 5, 2012 | ||
| The Jefferson Allegiance | Bob Mayer | Cool Gus | August 23, 2013 | Presidential Series novel | |
| The Kennedy Endeavor | Bob Mayer | Cool Gus | December 8, 2013 | Presidential Series novel | |
| Burners | Bob Mayer | Cool Gus | October 6, 2015 | Burners novel | |
| Prime | Bob Mayer | Cool Gus | December 22, 2015 | Burners novel |
''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.| Title | Date | ISBN | |
| 1 | Eyes of the Hammer | July 1991 | |
| 2 | Dragon SIM-13 | August 1992 | |
| 3 | Synbat | December 1993 | |
| 4 | Cut-Out | June 1995 | |
| 5 | Eternity Base | May 1996 | |
| 6 | Z: A Dave Riley Novel | December 1996 |
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.| Title | Date | ISBN | |
| 7 | Chasing the Ghost | October 8, 2012 | |
| 8 | Chasing the Lost | April 23, 2013 | |
| 9 | Chasing the Son | May 5, 2015 |
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.| Title | Date | ISBN | |
| 1 | New York Minute | June 24, 2019 | |
| 2 | Lawyers, Guns and Money | August 29, 2019 | |
| 3 | Walk on the Wild Side | November 19, 2019 | |
| 4 | Hell of a Town | June 9, 2020 | |
| 5 | No Quarter | June 25, 2021 | |
| 6 | Shelter from the Storm | March 25, 2024 |
''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.| Title | Date | ISBN | ISBN | |
| 1 | Area 51 | February 1997 | ||
| 2 | The Reply | February 1998 | ||
| 3 | The Mission | January 1999 | ||
| 4 | The Spinx | February 2000 | ||
| 5 | The Grail | February 2001 | ||
| 6 | Excalibur | March 2002 | ||
| 7 | The Truth | January 2003 | ||
| 8 | Nosferatu | July 2003 | ||
| 9 | Legend | March 2004 | ||
| 10 | Redemption | April 8, 2018 | — | |
| 11 | Invasion | June 22, 2018 | — | |
| 12 | Interstellar | April 26, 2019 | — | |
| 13 | Earth Abides | April 2, 2020 | — |
''The Nightstalkers'' (2012–2015)
Area 51: The Nightstalkers military science fiction series as by 'Bob Mayer'. Not all printings include a number stamp.| Title | Date | ISBN | |
| 1 | Nightstalkers | December 11, 2012 | |
| 2 | The Book of Truths | July 30, 2013 | |
| 3 | The Rift | February 25, 2015 | |
| 4 | Time Patrol | February 24, 2015 |
''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 as the first novel in the series.| Title | Date | ISBN | |
| 1 | Time Patrol | February 24, 2015 | |
| 2 | Black Tuesday | August 25, 2015 | |
| 3 | Ides of March | March 15, 2016 | |
| 4 | D-Day | May 23, 2016 | |
| 5 | Independence Day | July 4, 2016 | |
| 6 | Nine Eleven | September 11, 2016 | |
| 7 | The Fifth Floor | November 17, 2016 | |
| 8 | Valentine's Day | July 24, 2017 | |
| 9 | All Hallow's Eve | September 21, 2017 | |
| 10 | Equinox | September 14, 2020 |
''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.| Title | Date | ISBN | ISBN | |
| 1 | Atlantis | June 1999 | ||
| 2 | Bermuda Triangle | May 2000 | ||
| 3 | Devil's Sea | February 2001 | ||
| 4 | Atlantis Gate | August 6, 2002 | ||
| 5 | Assault on Atlantis | October 28, 2003 | ||
| 6 | Battle for Atlantis | February 3, 2003 |
''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.| Title | Date | ISBN | Notes |
| The Line | September 16, 2013 | Black Ops, Book 1; Revised edition of The Line | |
| The Gate | December 15, 2015 | Black Ops, Book 2; Revised edition of The Gate | |
| Omega Missle | October 22, 2011 | Revised edition of The Omega Missle | |
| Omega Sanction | November 5, 2018 | Revised edition of The Omega Sanction | |
| Section Eight | January 6, 2013 | Jim Vaughn, Book 2; Revised edition of Section Eight |
''Duty, Honor, Country'' (2013–14)
Published as ebook exclusives.| Title | Date | ISBN | |
| 1 | Duty | February 18, 2013 | |
| 2 | Honor | January 21, 2014 | |
| 3 | Country | January 21, 2014 |
Non-fiction
| Title | Publisher | Date | ISBN | Notes |
| The Fiction Writer's Toolkit | Open Road | June 2001 | Revised as The Novel Writer's Toolkit | |
| The Novel Writer's Toolkit | Writer's Digest | August 2003 | ||
| Hunting Al Qaeda | Zenith Press | July 29, 2005 | Credited as editor in some printings | |
| Who Dares Wins | Pocket Books | June 2, 2009 | ||
| Warrior Writer | Cool Gus | March 8, 2010 | Revised as Write It Forward | |
| Write It Forward | Cool Gus | July 11, 2011 | with Jen Taity; Also known as Writer's Conference Guide | |
| The Shelfless Book | Cool Gus | November 26, 2012 | with Jen Taity; Also known as How We Made Our First Million on Kindle | |
| The Green Beret Suvival Guide | Cool Gus | December 17, 2012 | Republished under various titles | |
| Shit Doesn't Just Happen | Cool Gus | August 31, 2014 | ||
| Shit Doesn't Just Happen II | Cool Gus | September 25, 2014 | ||
| Prepare Now Survive Later | Cool Gus | December 8, 2016 | Republished under various titles | |
| Survive Now Thrive Later | Cool Gus | December 8, 2016 | Republished under various titles |