He wrote as an active duty naval officer and a naval reserve captain;[2] his service included duty in the Atlantic, Arctic, Pacific, Caribbean, and Persian Gulf area prior to his retirement from the Navy in July 2001.
Another series, more slanted to the adventure genre, features an ex-Coast Guard commercial diver, Lyle "Tiller" Galloway.
According to Poyer, much of his work draws upon his own experiences in military service and as a cruising sailor and sport diver.
Poyer taught in the Wilkes University MA/MFA low-residency program in Creative Writing for sixteen years.
He's a fellow of the Ossabaw Writers Retreat and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, a life member of ASNE, SNA, and USNAAA, and has served as a board member of the Library of Virginia and the Eastern Shore Public Library.