Bob’s Comments (group member since Dec 04, 2012)

Bob’s comments from the Ask Bob Mayer - December 11, 2012 group.

As I just mentioned, I think Atlantis has possibilities. I always liked Ragnarok, the Viking, in the one Atlantis book. And Falco the gladiator. Maybe tell the story of the legion that marched off into history and was never heard of again.

I think every author uses people they know to some extent. Thus a lot of my characters are former Spec Ops, since that's what I know.

Sorry on being AWOL a little here-- had to get drivers license as we just moved to TN.

I don't think I'll be going back to Area 51 series for more material-- the Atlantis series holds more options. But we're working on a new series, Burners, which is the best high concept my wife and I have ever had and hope to have that out Spring 2013.

I hadn't considered that. BTW-- Turcotte was named after a Sergeant Major I served with in the army who was one tough son-of-a-bitch.

The main problem was that the timeline in the original Area 51 series changed the planet so much and I'm using our current world in Nightstalkers. No sure how they would mesh-- although, maybe a younger Turcotte? Pre-Area 51 series. Interesting.

I have one outlined: The Kennedy Endeavor. It's a question of finding the time to write it.

Patrick-- I didn't plan a series with Area 51. I wrote the first book, then added that epilogue. Which became the prologue of The Reply. And honestly, I didn't know where the series was going until about book four.

I think I'd work more on the characters, but it's easy to say that now. In fact, if I'd done more work on them, the twists that came about for Duncan and Turcotte at the end wouldn't have worked.

With Nightstalkers, my focus is more on the team. I'm writing the second book now and it's focused on a totally different problem than the first. Let's just say nukes, a truth serum that gets used in the wrong place, and we've got a lot of trouble in the White House.

The book is now available in eBook and print on Amazon.

The characters came to me as we developed the team. We knew we needed unique individuals. Part of the key was showing how a new member, Kirk, gets recruited, tested and named. This will let the reader know how the team is constructed.

This book is separate from the other Area 51 books in story. It's about the Special Operations unit that investigates the things that go bump in the night and screw ups by scientists. I'd call it The Unit meets Warehouse 13. This is the first book in a new series and I'm currently finishing the second one. Like all my books, this series will be heavy on action, but I've also added deeper characters and a pinch of snark and social commentary.

I'm really looking forward to this book coming out-- it not only has the action I always write, it also has humor and snark. And a bit of social commentary. Looking forward to chatting with everyone, and feel free to ask questions beforehand as I'll be checking this every day.
Thanks!