Post Falls Author Announces New Novel and iHeart Radio Show

A Post Falls author and producer with a passion and gift for Western culture has published a new book and will soon co-host a new show on iHeart Radio.

Anita Waggoner’s new novel, “Dakota Wells,” follows heroine Dakota, a woman who embarks on a journey of self-discovery in the wake of personal tragedy. As Dakota finds herself in the heart of a small western town, she confronts her past, rebuilds her life, and discovers a new purpose along the way.

Waggoner has also written novels such as “Charleston Cheat,” “Myrtle’s Story: Strong Western Women of the 1800s and early 1900s,” “The Ranch at Huckleberry Ridge: Time Changes Old Friends When They Meet at a Montana Guest Ranch” and several others, all available on amazon.com. “Dakota Wells” will also be available soon from Well-Read Moose.

Her Western fiction features vivid descriptions of the American landscape and draws on themes of independence and survival. She has described “Dakota Wells” as a celebration of life’s challenges and the power of determination.

“I wanted to create a story that would inspire readers to believe in second chances and the possibility of a fresh start, no matter what challenges they face,” Waggoner said in a Sept. 9 press release. “Dakota Wells is a reflection of the struggles and triumphs that define us as individuals.”

Wagonner, who has lived in northern Idaho since 2019, told The Press that her motivation to write Western stories comes from being raised around rodeo, cowboys and the Western way of life. Her grandfather was one of the founders of the Omak Stampede and the Suicide Race in her hometown of Omak, Washington. After leaving Omak in the late 1960s, she lived in the Seattle area for many years.

“After a long marriage and divorce, I met an Oklahoma cowboy at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas who invited me to visit his ranch in Freedom, Oklahoma,” she said. “I went and stayed for 13 years, where I owned a 3,400-acre ranch, raised rodeo bulls that performed for the Professional Bull Riders and in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association rodeos from Madison Square Garden in New York to Anaheim, California.”

She was a PBR inventory contractor for nine years.

“My biggest influence was my grandfather, Leo Moomaw, and my personal experiences on my Freedom Ranch and in the men’s world of rodeo,” Waggoner said. “I have a lot of favorite stories about ranch life. Most of them are expressed in my books.”

Waggoner is also working on a film project, “Freedom,” a Western drama/romance that draws on his personal experiences and life story.

Waggoner will begin co-hosting a new radio show with Russ Stevenson, “Russ on the Radio,” from 6 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. on iHeart Radio KNST AM 790 in Tucson. It will be hosted by Stevenson on its first episode Saturday. The show will be available to audiences in North Idaho.

“We’re going to dive right into a discussion about freedom, which is one of the central themes of our show,” Waggoner said.

The new show will celebrate not only the concept of freedom but also the Western way of life, with guests including actors, singers, cowboys, cowgirls, rodeo and bull riding celebrities and anyone with a compelling story or innovative idea to share, Waggoner said.

“I look forward to this challenging and exciting opportunity to share my film ‘Freedom’, my books and the Western lifestyle I love,” she said.