Zew Cthulhu

What inspired you to start writing? Where and when was your first text published?

I always thought of myself as a writer, even as a kid. When I was ten I tried to write a sequel to the movie Alien, even though I hadn't seen it. I think my interest in writing came from reading so much - I was a voracious reader as a youngster, plowing through novels and stories as fast as I could. My first published work was in the first issue of The Unspeakable Oath, my Call of Cthulhu zine. At that time I was nineteen years old and hadn't written anything professionally.

How big of an influence does H. P. Lovecraft have on your work? Why he?

His work has changed my life, given that I've spent the last decade publishing books based on his work. In my writing, he's inspired me to think about not just a story and characters, but the cosmology of the world in which the story occurs. As for why, it's hard to say. His stories certainly captivated me as a teenager, and his life has fascinated me as an adult. The long tradition of other writers and artists creating related works has also been important and inspiring to me, especially in a shared-creation hobby like gaming.

How did you come to establish Pagan Publishing? How did it all start?

Well, as I mentioned I was nineteen and I was a sophomore in college. I felt that I should do something interesting before I turned twenty, something that would in some way start me down the path of my life. I was playing Call of Cthulhu every week and got the idea of publishing a zine for the game, and that was The Unspeakable Oath. Everything just grew from there.

Could you tell us something about the birth of Delta Green? Where did the idea come from? How did it develop into the fantastic setting?

I've been interested in UFOs and conspiracy folklore since I was young. My parents were in a UFO club, meeting to discuss UFOs and also occult events like ghosts. They even investigated a couple of UFO and bigfoot sightings, like a milder version of Mulder & Scully. Merging those interests with Lovecraft's work only seemed natural.

Can we expect new supplements for Delta Green in the nearest future? If so, what's going to be in them?

The new short-story anthology, Delta Green: Dark Theatres, is at the printer now and is coming out in November. After that, we're assembling a collection of the three chapbooks that Dennis Detwiller wrote, with some new material added. It'll be out early next year sometime.

We know that "MAG Publishing" was very keen on bringing out a Polish edition of Delta Green. The talks with Pagan Publishing failed however. What happened?

I really don't remember. We've talked to a number of foreign game companies in the last few years about them publishing translations of several of our books. Some of them have worked out, and some of them haven't. I don't know what happened with MAG. For the most part, our experiences with foreign editions of our work have been disappointing - books that never get published, or that we never get paid for. There have been a couple of exceptions, but not many. It's no longer a real priority for us, because the work it takes to make them happen isn't worth the trouble that usually follows.

Was Delta Green published in any other language versions, other than English that is? What were they?

Jeux Descartes in France published a French edition of it. I believe we signed a contract with a company in another country but nothing happened.

What are you currently working on?

We are preparing a collection of scenarios from early issues of The Unspeakable Oath. It'll have almost all of them from TUO1-TUO10, and should be out next year.

Your motto?

"Seize the day" is not the thing, but the impetus of the thing. The thing is "Own the day." Apply the notion of property rights to time instead of space. Wake up and tell the world, "You're living on MY time."

What advice would you give young people who begin their adventure with writing?

Stop reading crap. Start reading writers who are better than you are - it's the best way to learn and improve.

A few words for Polish readers of the Inkluz magazine?

Never split the party. Never trust a Mi-Go. Ask questions first and shoot cultists later. When in doubt, run!