House of Crouse

On this week’s edition of the Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet Jon Klassen. He is the creator of the #1 New York Times best-selling I Want My Hat Back. He is also the illustrator of The Shapes Trilogy of books which is now is now a television show on Apple TV+ called Shape Island. His new book is The Skull, a folktale about a brave girl who helps a Skull over come his fears as she overcomes her own.

Then, we meet C.C. Humphreys. You know him as an actor. He was Clive Parnell on Coronation Street and appeared on The Adventures of Shirley Holmes and Elysium among many others things.

He has also written twenty-two novels of both historical fiction and fantasy including his latest “Someday I’ll Find You,” a novel about a spy, and a pilot, who fall in love but are wrenched apart during World War II, and must find their way back to each other.

This tale of causes and compromises, heroism and betrayaI is perfect for fan of historical fiction, of books like “The Nightingale” and “Lilac Girls.”

On this edition of the Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet animator and author Alan Barillaro. He’s an Academy Award winner for his work at Pixar and is now an author with the release of a middle-grade novel called “Where The Water Takes Us” is available now wherever fine books are sold. It is a stirring story about a sensitive, shaken young girl who must face that growing up means coming to terms with the things you cannot change--and taking responsibility for the things you can.

We’ll also get to know Clare Pooley, the Cambridge educated author of "Iona Iverson’s Rules For Commuting." After working in advertising for twenty years it dawned on her that her daily ‘wine o’clock’ habit was out of control. She wrote the popular "Mummy was a Secret Drinker" blog and a memoir, "The Sober Diaries," published in 2017 to critical acclaim. Her latest novel, "Iona Iverson’s Rules For Commuting," is an entertaining book about unexpected friendships and the joy of connecting.

On this edition of the Richard Crouse Show we meet best-selling author Ashley Audrain. Two years ago Ashley debut novel, The Push, became a New York Times, Sunday Times (UK), #1 international bestseller, and a Good Morning America Book Club pick. The psychological thriller tells the story of three generations of women who have been abused and are passing on their traumas through these generations.

Her second book “The Whispers,” now available wherever fine books are sold, is a propulsive page-turner about four suburban families whose lives are changed when the unthinkable happens—and what is lost when good people make unconscionable choices.

We’ll also meet Elegance Bratton, the film director who turned his story of being a young gay man, who found unexpected strength, camaraderie and support when he joined the Marines, after being rejected by his mother, into a critically acclaimed film called “The Inspection.” It is a classic against-all-odds story that paints a vivid picture of life inside the boot camp, the dehumanization, the violence, but also the brotherhood. The movie carefully builds the world of the boot camp, creating a palette of claustrophobia, brutality and tension that adds layers to the telling of his survival story.

On this edition of the Richard Crouse Show we meet Emm Gryner. She is a Canadian musician and vocal coach. David Bowie named Emm as one of his two favourite Canadian acts. U2 frontman Bono named her song “Almighty Love” as one of six songs that he wished he had written.

Gryner toured in David Bowie’s band, singing and playing keyboards, and appears on the recordings Bowie at the Beeb and Glastonbury 2000. Emm helped make the first music video in outer space with Chris Hadfield and is also the author of a book called “The Healing Power of Singing: Raise Your Voice, Change Your Life: What Touring With David Bowie, Single Parenting And Ditching The Music Business Taught Me In 25 Easy Steps.”

Her new album is “Business & Pleasure” is a celebration of the Detroit radio scene and the music that shaped her childhood. From Motown, jazz and pop, to Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac and the Doobies, Business & Pleasure is infused with the sunshine soul and stellar playing of the late 70s and early 80s.

Then, Gord Sinclair stops by. Best known as the bass player and one of the songwriters in The Tragically Hip, he is now a “reluctant solo artist” with a new album called In Continental Drift, available now wherever you buy fine music.

Finally, we go into the vault to revisit my interview with the late, great rock photographer Mick Rock. He is often referred to as ‘The Man Who Shot the Seventies’, for his iconic images of Syd Barrett, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Queen, The Ramones, Blondie, Rocky Horror Picture Show, etc. London born, he has resided in New York for over 35 years. He has shot over 100 album covers.

Rock was instrumental in creating many key rock ‘n’ roll images, such as album covers for Syd Barrett’s Madcap Laughs, Lou Reed’s Transformer and Coney Island Baby, Iggy and The Stooges’ Raw Power, Queen’s Queen II (recreated for their classic music video ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’) and Sheer Heart Attack, The Ramones End of the Century and Joan Jett’s I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll, among many others. He was the chief photographer on the films The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Shortbus. He recently shot special stills for the new TV version of Rocky Horror, featuring the transgender actress Laverne Cox as Frank n Furter. He also produced and directed the seminal music videos for Bowie: ‘John, I’m Only Dancing’, ‘Jean Genie’, ‘Space Oddity’, and ‘Life On Mars’.

On this episode of the Richard Crouse Show we meet novelist, editor, and creative writing instructor Amy Jones. She is the author of the novels Every Little Piece of Me (McClelland & Stewart, 2019) and We’re All in This Together (McClelland & Stewart, 2016), her third novel, Pebble and Dove, which is available now wherever fine books are sold.

Set in Florida, it’s a story of mothers and daughters and an inspirational manatee. Mother Lauren's life is a mess. She has a storage unit full of candles she can't sell, a growing mountain of debt, and a teenage daughter, Dove, who barely speaks to her. When Dove discovers the abandoned Flamingo Key Aquarium and Tackle, she meets Pebble, the world's oldest manatee in captivity. It is Pebble, a former star attraction, and her devoted caretaker, Ray, who hold the key to helping Lauren and Dove move forward.

Then, Andrew F. Sullivan, an author the Globe and Mail called “One of the country’s most talented young writers.” He is the author of “The Marigold,” a new novel that combines decay, urban sprawl, urban dystopia, and nature’s vengeance in a story about a dystopian future in the city of Toronto where a monster of our own making, a deadly mold, becomes sentient and attacks from within.

On this edition of the Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet Pete Sohn, director of the new Pixar film “Elemental.” He is an animator, voice actor, storyboard artist, and film director known for his work at Pixar as the director of 2015's The Good Dinosaur. He has also been the voice of Emile in Ratatouille, Squishy in Monsters University, and Sox in Lightyear… he returns to the big screen with “Elemental,” a beautifully animated movie that takes place in a city where fire, water, land, and air residents live together. With that as a backdrop, a fiery young woman and a go-with-the-flow guy are about to discover something elemental: how much they actually have in common. The story is a fantasy, but has roots in Sohn’s family story.

We’ll also get to know Liz Locke. If you like cocktails and classic movies like I do, you’ll want to check out her site CinemaSips.com and then check out her debut novel “Follow the Sun,” a portrait of the 1960s International Jet Set Era through the eyes of an aspiring singer-songwriter.

And we’ll meet Emmy-award winning documentary filmmakers Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine who have created a fascinating look at iconic Canadian singer and poet Leonard Cohen called “HALLELUJAH: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song” that uses one of his most famous songs as a starting point. We’ll find out why one of Cohen’s most famous songs was rejected by his record company and more.

On this week’s Richard Crouse Show we meet Lindsay Cameron. For many years Lindsay worked as a corporate lawyer in Vancouver and New York City before leaving the law behind to write books. Her first novel “Biglaw” was an insider's view of the cut-throat world of big New York law firms, was a big hit and was followed by a suspense novel called “Just One Look: A Novel” that critics called “totally addictive.”

Her latest novel is “No One Needs to Know,” is another suspense story, described as “White Lotus” meets “Gossip Girl.” It explores a modern age nightmare - what if your darkest secrets were revealed to your enemies?

In the book, an anonymous neighborhood forum gets hacked, and the darkest secrets of New York’s wealthiest residents come to light—including some worth killing for.

We also get to know Carley Fortune, an award-winning journalist who worked as an editor at some of Canada’s top publications, including The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, Toronto Life, and The Grid. She was most recently the Executive Editor of Refinery29 Canada. Her new book is called “Meet Me at the Lake,” a love story about secrets, lies, missed connections and second chances that is being called, “beautiful and heart-tugging.”

On this week’s edition of the Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet Martha Hall Kelly, the New York Times bestselling author of Lilac Girls, Lost Roses, and Sunflower Sisters. With more than two million copies of her books sold and her books translated in fifty countries, Martha joins me today to talk about her new book “The Golden Doves.”

It is a gripping historical novel, inspired by true events, about two former female spies, bound together by their past, who risk everything to hunt down an infamous Nazi doctor in the aftermath of World War II.

We’ll also meet Ari Aster, the writer and director of challenging hit films like Hereditary and Midsommar. Today we’ll talk about his latest movie, Beau Is Afraid, a three hour panic attack of a film starring Joaquin Phoenix as a mild-mannered but paranoia-ridden man who embarks on a surreal odyssey to get home to see his mother. I’ve seen a lot of movies, and I’ve never seen anything quite like this one. Find out what it means when I call it a “three hour panic attack.”

And we’ll get to know we’ll meet British comedian, actress and television presenter Lorna Watson as we talk about how a one off character she did on a show called “Father Brown” a decade ago is back with season two of a show built around that very same character on the “Sister Boniface Mysteries,” which is is now available to stream on BritBox.

On this edition of the Richard Crouse Show we meet Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton, collaborators on a new album called “Death Wish Blues.”

Samantha Fish, a guitarist, songwriter and singer, voted by guitarworld.com as oner of the 10 best blues guitarists in the world today joins us. Calling her a blues guitarist is a little misleading because in a career spanning over 10 years, the Kansas City, Missouri musician music features multiple genres, including blues but also rock, country, funk, bluegrass and ballads.

Jesse Dayton boasts an exceptional resume as an acclaimed solo recording artist, collaborator with artists such as Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Duff McKagan, a touring guitarist for seminal punk band X, teammate with Rob Zombie on the soundtracks for his iconic horror films, and as a radio show host on Gimme Country.

We’ll also get to know Ore Agbaje-Williams. She is a British-Nigerian writer from London who has written for gal-dem and Glamour. Her new novel, “The Three of Us” now available wherever fine books are sold, tells the story of long-standing tensions between a husband, his wife, and her best friend, that finally come to a breaking point in this sharp domestic comedy of manners, told brilliantly over the course of one day.

We round things out with Joy Fielding, the New York Times bestselling author called "an ingenious master of domestic suspense," joins me to talk about her new novel “The Housekeeper.” It’s a suspenseful story about a woman who hires a housekeeper to care for her aging parents--only to watch as she takes over their lives.

On this edition of the Richard Crouse Show we’ll meet wrestler, comedian, actor and talk show host RJ City. A lifelong wrestling fan, he’s been wrestling professionally since 2006, he’s appeared in movies and these days, you can find him at All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a backstage interviewer and host of a weekly comedy talk show on AEW's YouTube page called Hey! (EW) where he interviews other AEW talent.

And, later we’ll meet Corinna Chong, a writer, editor, and graphic designer based in Kelowna, BC. Her first novel, Belinda's Rings, was published in Spring 2013. She won the 2021 CBC Short Story Prize for "Kids in Kindergarten." Today we’ll talk about her new book, “The Whole Animal,” a collection of short stories that grapple with the self-alienation and self-discovery that make us human.