Review Fix Exclusive: Mitchell Kriegman Talks ‘Things I Can’t Explain’

December 8, 2015 Patrick Hickey Jr. Books & Comics 0

Review Fix chats with author Mitchell Kriegman, who discusses his new book, “Things I Can’t Explain.” Breaking down the inspiration for the book and his career in television Kriegman lets us know exactly what makes this work a special one.

About “Things I Can’t Explain”:

From Clarissa Explains It All creator Mitchell Kriegman comes a re-imagining of the beloved 90s Nickelodeon series and everyoneʼs favorite precocious teenage fashionista, Clarissa Darling. Things I Canʼt Explain answers the questions fans have been asking since the end of the series, as now grown-up Clarissa struggles to answer questions of her own and learns to cope with new relationships and responsibilities.

For more on the book, click here.

Review Fix: How did Being Audrey Hepburn get you to this point?

Mitchell Kriegman: I wouldn’t have thought of writing Clarissa in novel form, Things I Can’t Explain, if I hadn’t written Being Audrey Hepburn. It opened up lots of possibilities for me.

Review Fix: How will fans of your television work feel about Things I Can’t Explain?

Kriegman: Some will feel nostalgic and wish to preserve their memories, others will be curious about the potential future for their favorite characters. Everyone gets to own Clarissa in their own way. That’s always been the case. All responses are good and I don’t mind a little controversy. Interestingly, I found that people were most upset that Janet and Marshall weren’t getting along. It made me realized how much the parents meant to them and how incredible those two actors were. But if they’re upset about that, there’s even more to be upset about inside the rest of the book.

Review Fix: What authors inspire you? Why?

Kriegman: Every author inspires me – Susanna Clark who wrote Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is amazing. Murakami is incredible. Jeff VanderMeer, Neil Gaiman, John Green, Kate Atkinson just to name a few. All have an amazing command of language story and character. But it’s character that look for most. The only thing that surprises is character.

Review Fix: Who do you think would enjoy Things I Can’t Explain the most?

Kriegman: Everyone even if you haven’t seen the TV series. It’s mostly a comedy romance filled with lots of inside jokes on the old show – that you don’t have to know to enjoy. And the character has a strong voice that I think people will love and easily fall into her flow.

Review Fix: What have you learned about yourself through the writing of this book?

Kriegman: That I need to keep writing.

Review Fix: Bottom line, why should someone read Things I Can’t Explain?

Kriegman: It’s great. It’s ridiculous. It’s sad. And where else can you read about how Clarissa sexplains it all.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Kriegman: Something dark and disturbing I hope.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14316 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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