One minute with...Eoin Colfer, novelist

Eoin Colfer pic 2012 (new).bmp press shot

Where are you now and what can you see?

I'm in my office at home [in Wexford]. It has two large windows: out of one I can see my son drinking Ribena, which he's not supposed to do.

What are you currently reading?

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt... The author has really nailed the voice of the period.

Choose a favourite author and say why you admire him/her

William Boyd... He expresses the inner working of the human mind so beautifully, it makes me want to quit.

Describe the room where you usually write

It's a renovated stable designed by my brother, an architect... it's the only place I'm allowed to hang up leprechaun memorabilia.

Which fictional character most resembles you?

The Woody Allen character in films like... 'Annie Hall'. The kind of neurotic person who has to fill the silence.

Who is your hero/heroine from outside literature?

My father. He was the first person from his [fishing] village to go to university. He taught me at school, when physical punishment was encouraged – but he refused to hit children. Then he did a doctorate and has become one of the foremost authorities on Irish medieval history.

Eoin Colfer's 'Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian' is published by Puffin.