In WYONATION, a fictional what-if political thriller by author Dallas Jones, Wyoming has a big problem. Its people are moving away. That population decline ignites a national effort to remove Wyoming as state, but how would that happen? If Wyoming is nullified, what does it become?
Jones, a Wyoming native, lays out a plausible set of motivations and methods used to strip Wyoming of its statehood. He also examines a potential aftermath in which environmentalists, Native Americans, and secessionists vie with the state’s citizenry for control of the geographic region.
The story is presented through the eyes of Grayson Woodley, a key spokesperson during Wyoming’s two-year struggle for survival. Many years after Wyonation’s creation, he recounts the saga’s key events and players to an unusually curious foreign diplomat.
“Occasionally in the news, we hear threats of secession coming from a state or region,” Jones commented. “In those situations, that particular geographical entity would initiate the separation. However, I’ve never heard a scenario in which our federal government would try to expel a state from the US. Exploring that topic intrigued me.”
WYONATION is Jones’ second novel. MEET THE BOYS OF CASPER, released in 2017, won a CIPA EVVY Book Award for historical fiction by the Colorado Independent Publishers Association. Jones grew up in Casper and loves everything about Wyoming except the wind and spring blizzards. He is a graduate of the University of Wyoming, a member of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, the Colorado Authors League, and CIPA. Currently, Jones lives in Highlands Ranch with his wife.
WYONATION can be ordered from any Colorado independent bookstore. For further information, Dallas can be reached at: authordallasjones@gmail.com.
