Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I grew up in the Bronx, graduated the US Military Academy at West Point, served in the Infantry and Special Forces (Green Berets), and am a NY Times Bestselling author of over 50 books.
I’ve lived in a lot of places, and now am settled at Write on the River above the TN River with my wife, my two snoring yellow labs, and my writing.
Here’s the more stuff:
Born in the Bronx, Bob attended West Point and earned a BA in psychology with honors and then served as an Infantry platoon leader, a battalion scout platoon leader, and a brigade recon platoon leader in the 1st Cavalry Division. He joined Special Forces and commanded a Green Beret A Team. He served as the operations officer for 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and with Special Operations Command (Special Projects) in Hawaii. Later he taught at the Special Forces Qualification Course at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, the course which trains new Green Berets. He lived in Korea where he earned a Black Belt in Martial Arts. He’s earned a Masters Degree in Education.
Bob draws on all of these experiences to write his novels and his nonfiction books, including WHO DARES WINS: The Green Beret Way to Conquer Fear & Succeed; The Novel Writer’s Toolkit: A Guide To Writing Great Fiction; and Write It Forward: From Writer to Successful Author. His novels include the bestselling Area 51 books and collaborations with Jennifer Crusie. His books have hit the NY Times, Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal and numerous other bestseller lists. His last title, The Jefferson Allegiance, was released independently and reached #2 overall in sales on Nook.
Bob has presented for over 1,000 organizations both in the United States and internationally, including keynote presentations, all day workshops, and multi-day seminars. He has taught organizations ranging from Maui, to Whidbey Island, to San Diego State University, to the University of Georgia, to the Romance Writers of America National Convention, to Boston SWAT, the CIA, Fortune-500, Microsoft, the Royal Danish Navy Frogman Corps, Microsoft, Rotary, IT Teams in Silicon Valley and many others. He has also served as a Visiting Writer for NILA MFA program in Creative Writing. He has done interviews for the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Sports Illustrated, PBS, NPR, the Discovery Channel, the SyFy channel and local cable shows. For more information see www.bobmayer.org.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Green Berets: Chasing The Lost. I had a six book Green Beret series featuring Dave Riley. He retired and has been retired for over ten years in my fiction. But I’m bringing Horace Chase, the protagonist from Chasing The Ghost, into Riley’s world and he’s unretiring. I’m launching a new hybrid series the Green Beret/Chase series, set in the low country around Hilton Head, SC with a unique team of misfits taking on bad guys. Think Burn Notice in the Low Country.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I use excel spreadsheets to keep track of my story, timeline, locales, etc. I’m terrible with details so I fill one out as I write.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Dennis Lehane; Kate Atkinson; Larry McMurtry; Tolkein; Richard Russo
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a serial called Burners. It’s about a society where classes are determined by date of death, which is determined on Dealing Day Burners are those who will die at a median of 25. Thus they burn the candle at both ends. Living hard.
But, of course, there’s a flaw in the system.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Writing good books. But now, I’m also focusing on building a core group of readers, a “street team”. I give them free advance reading copies and other things. Word of mouth is the best way to promote a book and the best way to do that is to get readers to do it for you.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. Don’t worry about marketing and promotion. The best promotion is a good book, better promotion is more good books.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Until you let go of anger, you will never be successful. Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior, told me that one year when we were teaching together in Maui.
What are you reading now?
Just finished Kate Atkinson’s Life after Life. I will have to read it again, because there is so much to it.
What’s next for you as a writer?
After Burners, I have to write Nightstalkers 3. The third book in my series for 47North, Amazon’s scifi imprint. Basically it’s The Unit Meets Warehouse 13.
What is your favorite book of all time?
I love LOTR naturally. But Lonesome Dove also consumed me with its characters and scope.
Author Websites and Profiles
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