About Me

Since you clicked on this section, I assume that you’re wondering who this Rich Howells guy is and what the hell the purpose of this website is. Well, I’ll begin by introducing myself. I’m 27-years-old, I was born, raised, and currently reside in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and I am a writer looking to make my mark.

I am both a journalist and a creative writer. I write and take pictures for a local newspaper organization called The Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company and am published consistently in at least four publications by said company. I am the main staff writer at Go Lackawanna, their weekly Scranton-based paper, and am involved heavily in its direction and content thanks to my very progressive editor. This (usually) pays the bills, and I do my creative work on the side, which includes blogging as well as penning fiction and non-fiction.

In addition to my regular coverage of city and county government, I have interviewed entertainers such as Lewis Black, Paul Sorvino, Lou Ferrigno, Michael J. Nelson, Chubby Checker, Jim Florentine, and members of bands such as Megadeth, Stone Sour, Sevendust, The Queers, and Badfish, among many others. I also have my own weekly column published both in print and online called “Infinite Improbability,” which examines various aspects of pop culture.

I have won two awards thus far for my journalistic work:

• Honorable Mention for Feature Beat Writing in the state-wide 2011 Keystone Press Awards
• Best Columnist/Writer in the 2011 Weekender Readers’ Choice Poll

How It All Began

I started writing in high school, and in 1999, I founded a blog with my cousin called That Thin Line. It began as a rant blog, usually on topics of politics and religion, and we ran the site on and off throughout college, creating a short-lived spin-off online magazine called The Heretic and constantly finding creative ways to cross “that thin line” between what is acceptable and unacceptable, humorous and profane, and the like. Eventually, we realized that the blog needed a more focused topic, so it eventually evolved into Muckmakers in 2008, which focuses on criticism of the religious, political, and business figures that are making muck of our world. That Thin Line became the name of our production company, an umbrella under which we could grow our respective creative projects.

This site began as a boring portfolio site that displayed samples of my work and featured a blog that I never updated. Using the TTL mentality and thinking outside the box, I decided to revamp the entire site and turn it into a living portfolio of both my professional and private work. I hope that it entertains as well as informs.

Personal Notes

In my (very little) spare time, I collect comic books, watch a lot of movies, enjoy late-night political/philosophical discussions, and attend as many concerts as humanly possible, usually of the metal and punk persuasion. I am an outspoken atheist, and politically, I consider myself too liberal even for even the so-called liberals, as evidenced by Muckmakers. I’m often sarcastic and admittedly cynical, but I find that just comes with job. Or is it the other way around? Either way, welcome to my world.

-Rich