Mayer, Bob 1959- (Joe Dalton, Robert Doherty, Greg Donegan, Bob McGuire)

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Mayer, Bob 1959- (Joe Dalton, Robert Doherty, Greg Donegan, Bob McGuire)

PERSONAL:

Born October 21, 1959, in Bronx, NY. Education: U.S. Military Academy, B.S., 1981; Austin Peay State University, M.A.Ed.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Hilton Head Island, SC. Agent—Janet Rotrosen Agency, 318 E. 51st St., New York, NY 10022. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer. Creator of "Who Dares Wins" lecture series; teaches at Hilton Head Island Writers Retreat. Military service: U.S. Army, served in Infantry and Green Berets, and as writer/instructor at JFK Special Warfare Center & School; U.S. Army Reserve, became captain.

WRITINGS:

FICTION

Eyes of the Hammer, Lyford Books (Novato, CA), 1991.

Dragon Sim-13, Lyford Books (Novato, CA), 1992.

Synbat, Lyford Books (Novato, CA), 1994.

Cut-Out, Presidio Press (Novato, CA), 1995.

Eternity Base, Lyford Books (Novato, CA), 1996.

Z: A Dave Riley Novel, Lyford Books (Novato, CA), 1997.

(With Jennifer Crusie) Don't Look Down, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2006.

NONFICTION

The Novel Writer's Toolkit: A Guide to Writing Novels and Getting Published, Writer's Digest (Cincinnati, OH), 2003.

(With others) Hunting Al Qaeda: A Take-No-Prisoners Account of Terror, Adventure, and Disillusionment, Zenith Press (St. Paul, MN), 2005.

Also author of Who Dares Wins: Special Operations Tactics for Success.

FICTION; UNDER PSEUDONYM ROBERT DOHERTY

The Rock, Dell (New York, NY), 1995.

Psychic Warrior, Dell (New York, NY), 2000.

Psychic Warrior: Project Aura, Dell (New York, NY), 2001.

Bodyguard of Lies, Forge (New York, NY), 2005.

Section 8, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2005.

The Citadel, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2007.

"AREA 51" SERIES; UNDER PSEUDONYM ROBERT DOHERTY

Area 51, Dell (New York, NY), 1997.

The Reply, Dell (New York, NY), 1998.

The Mission, Dell (New York, NY), 1999.

The Sphinx, Dell (New York, NY), 2000.

The Grail, Dell (New York, NY), 2001.

Excalibur, Dell (New York, NY), 2002.

Nosferatu, Dell (New York, NY), 2003.

The Truth, Dell (New York, NY), 2003.

Legend, Dell (New York, NY), 2004.

FICTION; UNDER PSEUDONYM BOB MCGUIRE

The Line, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1996.

The Gate, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1997.

FICTION; UNDER PSEUDONYM JOE DALTON

The Omega Missile, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1998.

The Omega Sanction, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1999.

"ATLANTIS" SERIES; UNDER PSEUDONYM GREG DONEGAN

Atlantis, Berkley (New York, NY), 1999.

Bermuda Triangle, Berkley (New York, NY), 2000.

Devil's Sea, Berkley (New York, NY), 2001.

Atlantis Gate, Berkley (New York, NY), 2001.

Assault on Atlantis, Jove (New York, NY), 2003.

Battle for Atlantis, Berkley (New York, NY), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS:

Writer and speaker Bob Mayer is the author of action thrillers, science fiction, and nonfiction under his own name as well as a host of pseudonyms. He is perhaps best known for his titles featuring Green Beret Dave Riley, such as Dragon Sim-13, as well as his "Area 51" series, written under the pen name Robert Doherty. Mayer also collaborated with romance novelist Jennifer Crusie on the 2006 work Don't Look Down.

Mayer, who spent twenty years in the U.S. military, made his publishing debut in 1991 with Eyes of the Hammer. In the novel, officials from the Colombian government enlist American aid to help them destroy cocaine-processing laboratories. A Special Forces A-Team is dispatched to Columbia, where an ambush leaves four Green Berets dead and another held captive by a drug lord known as the "Ring Man." With the help of CIA agent Kate Westland, Special Forces warrant officer Dave Riley attempts a daring rescue. According to a reviewer in Publishers Weekly, "Mayer successfully establishes the nuanced differences among U.S. Special Operations units: Rangers, Delta Force and Special Forces." Riley and his men find themselves trapped in hostile territory in Dragon Sim-13, "a nail-biter in the best tradition of adventure fiction," observed a Publishers Weekly critic. A computer-simulated attack on China goes horribly wrong, placing Riley and his team of soldiers in danger when their helicopter crashes behind enemy lines. In the words of Newgate Callendar, writing in the New York Times Book Review, "there is nonstop action."

In Synbat, Riley and his team of Green Berets must track a group of genetically-engineered primates that escape from a lab complex in Tennessee. Known as Synbats, or synthetic battle forms, the creatures leave a trail of destruction in their wake. The Special Forces must confront "not only the vicious animals, but also government officials intent upon keeping their secrets … intact," noted a critic in Publishers Weekly. Riley joins forces with a Chicago police officer to learn why a mobster is gunned down after he enters the Federal Witness Protection Program in Cut-Out. The story "pits … Riley and his men against two groups of professional killers and the heinous federal officials behind one of them," observed a Publishers Weekly contributor. In Z: A Dave Riley Novel, a deadly new virus is unleashed in Angola, wreaking havoc on the nation's inhabitants. According to Library Journal reviewer Michelle Foyt, descriptions of "modern warfare and the details of hand-to-hand encounters add excitement."

Mayer's "Area 51" series concerns a top secret facility established by the U.S. government to study extraterrestrial technology. In The Mission, scientist Lisa Duncan and Special Forces officer Mike Turcotte travel to the Amazon river basin to learn why villagers are dying at an alarming rate, only to find that alien invaders have unleashed a deadly virus. In Nosferatu, a race of ancient vampires plots to control the Earth. Fans of previous volumes in the series "definitely will enjoy this exciting installment, and newcomers will find much to enjoy, too," observed Kristine Huntley in Booklist.

The Shadows, a sinister force, threatens the planet in Mayer's "Atlantis" series, written under the pen name Greg Donegan. In Bermuda Triangle, former Green Beret Eric Dane must prevent a nuclear missile from detonating in the Atlantic Ocean. "Donegan's battle scenes will keep action readers happy," noted a Publishers Weekly critic. Dane teams with scientist Ariana Michelet to prevent the Shadows from destroying the Pacific Rim in Devil's Sea. The novel "satisfies both as a bold page-turner and an enjoyable frolic in the pulp adventure tradition," remarked a reviewer in Publishers Weekly.

Director Lucy Armstrong and Green Beret J.T. Wilder join forces to discover the source of the mysterious "accidents" occurring on the set of Armstrong's new film in the romantic thriller Don't Look Down. Despite the danger involving snipers, alligators, and the Russian mob, the novel is "all in good fun," noted a Publishers Weekly critic.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, July, 2003, Kristine Huntley, review of Nosferatu, p. 1877; September 1, 2006, Sheri Melnick, review of Don't Look Down (audiobook review), p. 148.

Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 1996, review of Z: A Dave Riley Novel, p. 1761; January 15, 2005, review of Bodyguard of Lies, p. 68; February 15, 2006, review of Don't Look Down, p. 146.

Library Journal, February 1, 1997, Michelle Foyt, review of Z, p. 106; February 15, 1999, Jackie Cassada, review of The Mission, p. 188; March 1, 2006, Rebecca Vnuk, review of Don't Look Down, p. 77.

New York Times Book Review, July 28, 1991, Newgate Callendar, "Spies & Thrillers," review of Eyes of the Hammer; September 27, 1992, Newgate Callendar, "Spies & Thrillers," review of Dragon Sim-13.

Publishers Weekly, May 24, 1991, review of Eyes of the Hammer, p. 46; June 29, 1992, review of Dragon Sim-13, p. 53; November 29, 1993, review of Synbat, p. 55; December 12, 1994, review of Cut-Out, p. 51; January 13, 1997, review of Z, p. 57; May 8, 2000, review of Bermuda Triangle, p. 210; January 29, 2001, review of Devil's Sea, p. 71; June 25, 2001, review of Psychic Warrior: Project Aura, p. 57; February 27, 2006, review of Don't Look Down, p. 35; March 6, 2006, Daisy Maryles, "She Said, He Said: Sparks Fly When a Top Romance Novelist Meets a Thriving Thriller Writer," p. 32.