Ask the Author: Danny Toma
Answered Questions (3)
Danny Toma
I never really have writer's block, per se - that is, I can't remember ever just staring at a page and not being able to come up with anything. With me, it is more a question of making myself go to the page in the first place. I can find all kinds of excuses to not go there, and can be very successful in avoiding the thought of writing (except when I wake up at 3:00 am, for some reason). Once I make myself sit down, however, it generally flows rather easily.
Danny Toma
I am planning to stick to the memoir format for my next book and talk about the many years I spent in Italy, not only to recount some of my favorite stories about people and places, but to give a sense of the evolution of Italian society over the last forty-five years since I first traveled there.
Danny Toma
My most recent book, "Outside the Wire: A Foreign Service Officer in Southern Iraq," is based on a diary I kept during my time at the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Basra during the latter phases of the Iraq War. In a lot of ways, it was the best worst time in my life - worst because of family separation, difficult living conditions, and the threat of death or injury, but best because of the camaraderie I enjoyed with some truly outstanding individuals, both civilian and military, for whom duty was the highest watchword. I decided to write this in tribute to them, and also to capture a moment in history at a particular place and time to let others know what it was like to be there.
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