The Danny and Park Novels Good News Podcast

Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Today’s guest is Devin, a former Richmond police officer. I was working on a case recently and was talking  on the phone with a detective from another jurisdiction. After we hung up, my phone rang again immediately and showed that detective’s number. I answered and to my surprise it was Devin. He’d gone to work for another agency, was with the detective that I was talking to and recognized my name once that detective told him  he was talking to Investigator Baynes. After Devin and I caught up a bit, he asked when I was going to have him on my podcast. My answer? Anytime you’re ready. 

 Once you finish listening. I won't even have to ask if you like Devin because I'll already know the answer. A resounding yes. He’s such a down to earth guy, and his love for being a police officer and more importantly, the love he has for being a police officer in a city like Richmond speaks volumes about his personality and his character. And who could have predicted that my interaction with a detective from another jurisdiction would lead me to have such a fantastic conversation with Devin? 

I think that’s the power of positivity. Even when you’re not looking, it’s everywhere. I’d like to thank Devin for coming on the podcast and hope that he comes back for a second conversation soon. And I hope you do, too.

So until next time, take care of one another and thanks for listening.

Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Today’s returning guest is  the one and only, Johnnie Calloway.  The last time Johnnie and I talked was back in May, 2022. I’ve been following Johnnie on Instagram since then and always enjoy his posts. One of his recent posts was of him and three of his sons, standing outside in the snow, shirts off and flexing for the camera. I saw that and thought of one word: Fatherhood. So I reached out to him to see if he’d be willing to come on and do another episode and true to form, he agreed right away. 

Once you listen to the episode, let me know if you enjoyed Johnnie as much as I did the second time around. There’s just something about Johnnie that’s so darn likable. That is as long as you’re the type of person who likes honest, non-political, highly intelligent, open people who aren’t afraid to speak their mind, despite outside forces trying their hardest to divide us. 

I want to thank Johnnie for taking the time out of crazily hectic schedule to come back on the show and spread some wisdom and positivity.

Below are some of the books Johnnie referenced in our conversation:

Outwitting the Devil  - Napoleon Hill

On Liberty - John Stuart Mill

TNT it Rocks the Earth- Claude Bristol

Your Faith is Your Fortune - Neville Goddard

You are the Placebo - Joe Dispenza

The Path to Prosperity - James Allen

Supreme Power Course - Dr. Murdo MacDonald Bayne 

And check out Johnnie on Instagram:  @misunderstood_g3enius

So, until next time, take care of one another and thanks for listening.

Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Today’s guest is Julia Borcherts, publicity manager at Chicago based  Kaye Publicity. I met Julia because I was interested in interviewing one of the authors that Kaye Publicity represented. Since then, we’ve exchanged many emails and I decided that in addition to interviewing authors, I’d like to go behind the publicity curtain and talk to Julia about what she does and her outlook on life. So here she is. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did.

Once you listen to it, let me know what you think.

I love that Julia closed an interview about the publicity business by speaking about community and positivity. That personal connection is so important, no matter what you do or who you are. Positivity is out there, and while it may not seem to be as prevalent as all the bad stuff, you don’t have to look too hard to find it.

I’d like to thank Julia for coming on the show, and if anyone has any questions for Julia, let me know and I’ll bring her back for another episode.

Until next time, take care of one another, and thanks for listening.

Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Today’s guest is one of my favorite authors, and more importantly, one of my favorite people: Tracy Clark.

Tracy is the author of not one, but two best selling book series, both set in Chicago and both with women of color as their protagonists. I had Tracy on as a guest back in March of 2023, and am thrilled that she came back for a second conversation and that I get the opportunity to talk to her again. I hope you enjoy the episode. And after you listen to it, answer a question for me.....

Am I a lucky guy or what?

I got to laugh and chat with Tracy Clark a second time and she’s just as charming as she was the first time we spoke. I hope everyone listening takes Tracy’s advice about reading authors from all backgrounds and walks of life. For that matter, that advice is good for just about anything in life, isn’t it?

I’d like to thank Tracy for coming back on and hopefully she’ll come back for a 3rd go ‘round.

And thank you all for listening. Together we can all make this world a better place. One interview at a time.

Make sure you check out Tracy's newest book here👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽

https://www.amazon.com/Fall-Detective-Harriet-Foster-Book-ebook/dp/B0BJLDSBM7/ref=sr_1_1?crid=26Y2RTVH7Q5GT&keywords=tracy+clark+fall&qid=1704839383&sprefix=tracy+clark+fall%2Caps%2C248&sr=8-1

Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Today’s guest is Faye Knightly of The Sisterhood of the Black Pen. I met Faye through one of this podcasts favorite people, Gloria Lucas. Faye sent me a message through Instagram and said that she’d like to talk about her writer’s group, The Sisterhood of the Black Pen. Obviously I said yes because everyone knows that writers are some of my favorite people, so here she is. So, sit back, relax and let me know what you think of our conversation .

After you give it a listen, tell me what you think of Faye. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never read an anthology, nor have I read much horror. Recently, that is. When I started reading fiction novels, I was devouring King, Koontz and other horrior-ish authors. As I got older, I started reading more in the thriller genre and historical  non-fiction. But after chatting with Faye, I’m going to pick up the first anthology and see how her contributing authors handle some horror around the holidays.

Check out Faye's link tree here 👇🏽

https://linktr.ee/thesisterhoodoftheblackpen

And  until next time, take care of each other and thanks for listening.

Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Back in May, I got an email from a publisher asking me if I’d feature an author in an upcoming podcast. Of course I sald yes because I’m a huge fan of authors. So the publisher said, “Great, we’ll do it in August.”  August?? That was three months away. Nevertheless, we set it up and that author is Yasmin Angoe.

 Have you ever talked to someone for the first time and felt like you just clicked? Well, that’s the feeling I got when Yasmin answered the phone and we started chatting. The questions and answers seemed seamless. Check out our interview, then let me know what you think of Yasmin.

 I'd bet that you'd agree with me when I say that she's awesome.  Who out there remembers going to the bookstore and seeing the books sectioned off by the race or nationality of the author? Now, as I say in our conversation, maybe it’s not sinister, but it sure does seem odd today. Especially when we’re living a world where so many forces are trying to drive us apart for their own gain. Shouldn’t we all strive for togetherness and unity? I think you all know where I stand on the matter. The world in which we live can become pretty overwhelming, so I’m glad there are people like Yasmin out there who can give us great advice on how to stay positive. 

Make sure you check out her Nena Knight series and anything else that she writes. 

Until next time, take care of one another, and thanks for listening.

Check out Yasmin through her social media:

X (Formerly Twitter): yasawriter

Instagram: author_yas

Facebook: Yasmin Angoe

OR....head over to her website:

http://www.yasminangoe.com

Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Today’s guest is David Kamwana, the creator of a new portable fitness device called The Calf Buster. Are you thinking, “Why on earth is Jamie talking to the inventor of a fitness product? Is this a sponsorship or something?” Have no fear, I’m still not sponsored by anyone, though I do enjoy fitness products, which is probably why David’s Calf Buster showed up in my Facebook feed. I checked out the product, then watched the video of David talking about it. I was curious about how a regular person like David creates a product and brings it to market, so I figured I’d drop him a line and see if he’d come on the show and talk about it. He replied quickly and said that he’d be happy to come on the show, so here he is. I hope you enjoy our conversation, because I know I did.

Once you finish listening, let me know what you thought of David. Did you think that he was open, honest and just an all around nice guy? So did I. I liked the fact that David had the courage to just go for it and create a product that he wanted to create. But I also like the fact that he said that he was in a position in his life to take a chance and make his vision a reality, with the understanding that if he had a wife and kids, The Calf Buster might not exist. The world needs more people like David. Inventors and creators, yes, but also people who are funny, kind, outgoing and naive. I think people like David help to combat all the negativity that seems to exist everywhere you look.

If you want to check out David and The Calf Buster, check out the links below:

http://www.thecalfbuster.com

http://www.OneCrate.com

He’s also on Facebook and Instagram: @calfbuster

So until next time, make absolutely sure that you take care of one another, avoid the negative and embrace the positive. Thanks for listening.

       
      https://www.allsecurefoundation.org/

Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Today’s guest is Maria Cramer, the NYPD Bureau Chief/reporter for the New York Times. A good friend of mine in the NYPD forwarded me a New York Times article about a neighborhood in Brooklyn that was policing itself. I thought the article was fascinating and saw that it was written by Maria. Her email address was at the bottom of the article, so I decided to write her and see if she’d be willing to come on the episode. To my pleasant surprise, she agreed and we set it up. On the day we were supposed to record it, she’d gotten a cold and was so hoarse that she could barely speak and had to cancel the interview. Within a few days she was better and here she is. 

After you listen to our conversation, let me know what you think of Maria. Prior to our discussion , I had never considered that being a reporter was a craft. And I’d assumed that since she was a reporter for the New York Times, she would have certainly gone to journalism school. That’s what I get for making assumptions. And that’s why I like to interview people from all different walks of life, all different professions, all different……well, you get the idea. I think that if we all just talk to people and then listen to those same people, the world would be a better place. What do you think? 

I’d like to thank Maria for taking time out of her hectic schedule to talk to me for a half hour before she had to head uptown to another appointment. She was an absolute joy to talk to. And to listen to.

Until next time, take care of one another and thanks for listening.

Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Today’s guest is Jon Barr, creator of the fantastic YouTube channel ‘Here Be Barr’. Jon’s channel showed up in one of my suggested channel selections a couple years ago and I clicked on one of his videos about tourist traps in New York City. Like many people, I’ve always been fascinated about New York and have been a few times, so I watched the video, then clicked on another. Then another. And another. You get the point. To me, and several hundred thousand other people, Jon’s videos are like potato chips; you can’t stop with just one. So I sent Jon a message and asked him if he’d like to do an episode with me. He sent me a thumbs up emoji followed by a text that said, “Let’s do it.” So we did it. 

Once you listen to it, tell me what you think about Jon. I’m constantly amazed at the willingness of very popular people to agree to be interviewed by a guy with a small podcast, yet great folks like Jon continue to come on the show and talk about their work and their outlook on life. I think it’s an indication that even though bad news and conflict get clicks, people still like to talk about the good things in life and pass on to others their recipe for positivity. Jon and his obvious love for New York City are a fantastic example. If you just watched the news about New York, you’d think that it’s going back to the crime -riddled bad old days. Yet, all you need to do is watch just one of Jon’s videos about small delis and bodegas in the outer borroughs of the city and you’ll want to book a flight into JFK and go exploring. That’s what this podcast is all about.

Make sure you check out Jon's YouTube channel here:

https://www.youtube.com/@HereBeBarr

He's on Instagram too:

@here.be.barr

I'd like to thank Jon again for taking time out of his busy schedule to come on the show.

Until next time, take care of on another and thanks for listening.