Bestselling author Bob Mayer writes multiple series across fiction and nonfiction. Here he reminisces on the origins of his long-lived series, The Green Berets, and what he learned in writing and launching books in one series over the course of 25 years.
My first novel in the Green Beret series, Eyes of the Hammer came out around the same time as Tom Clancy’s novel, Clear and Present Danger.
His book dealt about Special Ops going to South America to deal with drug traffickers and my book deals with Special Ops going to South America to deal with drug traffickers. In both books there are lots of twists and turns and betrayals, because that’s the way it is in covert operations.
First thing to note—he had a hell of a better title. Early in my career, I didn’t understand the importance of title.
The title, Eyes of the Hammer, refers to the team being the ‘eyes’ on the ground, targeting drug labs for airborne platforms, the ‘hammer’. You knew that right? Not. I got even vaguer with the books as they went on, suffice it to say the brilliant title for the 6th book in the series was simply Z.
Yep. Just the letter.
Arghhh!
On the other hand, having actually commanded a Green Beret A-Team and served in other positions in Special Operations, I’d like to think I have a pretty good insight how things really happen.
People ask me why I started writing. I love when people say “I always wanted to be a writer.” I can’t say that’s true for me. It’s more than I always loved books. I read voraciously as a child. When I resigned my active duty Army commission and moved to South Korea to study martial arts, I had a lot of time on my hand outside of the four hours a day in the dojo. So I had the original 512k Mac, black and white, no hard drive, etc. etc. You couldn’t even put an entire manuscript in one document as the program wouldn’t support it, so you had a separate document for each chapter. Yes, I’m sure those who wrote on typewriters have no sympathy. Just as those who wrote long hand have no sympathy. Anyway, I just started writing. Eyes was actually my second manuscript. Back in the day, it was rare that someone’s first manuscript got published.
I introduce Dave Riley in Eyes of the Hammer. There was a legendary team sergeant in 10th Group that had retired not long before I got there named Riley. He supposedly had one eye, losing the other one to the wingtip of an airplane when he was on a landing strip in Vietnam. Now that’s a story by itself. Interestingly, my grandson, is named Riley. Now that could be the Riley from Buffy, or it could be the Riley from the Green Berets or it could be neither. We’re not telling.
It’s hard to believe that was my first book and now this latest book revitalizes the series: The Green Berets: Chasing the Lost, is my 50th book. I’m already into my next book in the series, The Green Berets: Chasing the Son. Nothing but good times ahead!
