Fowl player

Eoin Colfer is the author of the explosive children’s comic fantasy novel Artemis Fowl, which he has dubbed “Die Hard with fairies.” Although the 36-year-old Wexford teacher has been writing for years, with his first novel Benny And Omar a best-seller in Ireland, nothing has prepared him for the runaway success of his latest book, Artemis Fowl which has been the subject of a fierce bidding war for the American publishing and film rights. The book has been translated into twenty-five languages so far, and is a best-seller in every country it’s been released.

“Obviously, everyone entertains their own little fantasies about becoming a best-selling writer, like everyone fantasies about winning the lottery, but you don’t really think its going to happen,” Colfer says. “Sometimes I still don’t believe it.”

The title character of the novel is a 12-year-old criminal mastermind, the end of a long line of villainous millionaires. Ensconced in his Dublin mansion, the boy kidnaps a fairy with the aid of his loyal sidekicks, in order to top up the dwindling family fortune with a ransom of fairy gold. But our cunning prodigy gets more than he bargained for when dealing with the feisty denizens of the magical underworld, including eccentric elves, rogue trolls and mud-eating dwarfs.

“I’ve been fascinated by Irish myths and legends ever since I was a schoolboy, for years I wanted to do something on it,” Colfer says. “I didn’t want to just retell old legends, ‘cause there are already people who do that very well. I wanted to give a new twist to the idea of leprechauns and fairies, to modernise the old tales.”

Indeed, the novel brings these mythical beings bang up to date, with leprechauns being members of the LEPrecon (Lower Elements Police reconnaissance unit), equipped with all manner of high-tech crime-fighting equipment, in addition to traditional magic. You can see why the youth of today is responding well to the tale, which incorporates aspects of fast paced, wise-cracking action thrillers and James Bond-style gadgetry.

“Like most people in their thirties, I’m a child of pop culture,” Colfer explains. “Ours was the first generation to be saturated with music and TV and movies from America, England and the rest of the world, and all of those influences are there. Someone said to me that the book is a metaphor for Celtic Tiger Ireland, in that the old legends have been updated in the way that Ireland has been updated. I didn’t do that deliberately, but it’s true in a way, in that it’s brought leprechauns into the new millennium.”

It was a bold, but ingenious move on Colfer’s part to make the main and only child character in the book an unscrupulous villain. Of Artemis, Colfer says, “He’s an anti-hero. Some people don’t like him, while some love him. I suppose some adults wouldn’t relish the idea of their kids reading about someone who’s not exactly squeaky clean, but the kids love it. It’s aimed at the 12-year-old age group, and those kids would be perfectly well aware that he’s not real, just as they know Bart Simpson or the Artful Dodger aren’t real. I really don’t think anyone’s going to go out and try to kidnap some leprechauns after reading this book.”

Recognising the cinematic potential, Miramax have snapped up the film rights, but will probably alter many aspects of his original story beyond all recognition, a fact which Colfer is sanguine about.

“Well, it’s out of my hands now. The screenplay is just finished and once that’s been approved, they’re gonna get down to casting and they’re hoping to start shooting at the end of this year or early next year. But once you sign over the rights, you have to try and let it go.”

In the wake of the Harry Potter phenomenon, there’s been a surge in the popularity of children’s fantasy books. But how does Colfer react to people making comparisons with his book and that of the bespectacled boy wizard.

“Sometimes I mind. It depends how it’s put to me. I’ve had people say to me ‘Oh, so you’ve copied Harry Potter’ and I do get angry. I don’t think anyone who’s actually read the book would accuse me of that. I think the comparisons are to do with the hype around it and the genre, which is fair enough. It’s a fantasy book, but it’s the latest in a long line. Harry Potter is not the first and mine certainly wont be the last. If my book was put on the same shelf with the likes of J.K. Rowling, C.S. Lewis and Tolkien, I’d be very happy.”

While it may be filed under children’s books, Artemis Fowl has also proved a hit with those of more advanced years.

“When I was touring America a lot of adults turned up,” says Eoin. “I initially thought they were turning up to vet the book for their children, but they were actually fans themselves. Especially the science fiction, er, ‘community’ who are very strong in the States. They would turn up and ask very intense, intelligent questions, challenging the plot and discussing things in depth. They treated the book as if it was real, as if these people actually existed! I really enjoyed those conversations, but they were a tough crowd,” he laughs.

Colfer has given up his teaching job for the moment to work on the next book in the Artemis Fowl trilogy.

“I’d like to get back to teaching eventually although it’s looking increasingly unlikely now, because every minute is taken up with writing and doing publicity. The good thing is I get to visit a lot of schools doing readings and creative writing competitions. I like interacting with kids and I get a lot of my inspiration from them.”

Before he started the book, Colfer had already sketched the outline for a trilogy of Artemis adventures, but he’s keen to move on to other projects.

“I put a lot of thought into the construction of a world with enough well-developed characters to stretch to three books. After the second one, I might take a break to work on something else. I’m actually writing a musical with a friend of mine, Cyril Murphy, a classically trained musician from Wexford, based on one of the old Irish legends. It’s going very well, and we’re supposed to be going over to New York in January to meet with producers.”

Colfer has often maintained that Artemis Fowl is totally lacking in any morals or redeeming features, but he occasionally allow chinks of humanity to show through the boy’s cold exterior.

“As the series progresses we might see a little it more of his good side, as he begins to mature a bit, but I don’t want to back off from the fact that he’s a baddie,” he insists, adding, “although I think he may move away from kidnapping and into more corporate crime in the future.”

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer is published by Viking