Eoin Colfer, author of the epically evil Artemis Fowl series is releasing the final Fowl book, Artemis Fowl and The Last Guardian. K-Zone caught up with him and found out what he’s going to do next!
K-Zone: Why did you decide to wrap up the series after an amazingly successful 11 years?
EC: I decided to finish the series because in my head the story was over. And if I wrote any more, I suppose it would be good for my pocket but bad for the books!
K-Z: What’s it like for you, finishing up with Artemis?
EC: It’s strange because for the last 11 years I’ve either talked about Artemis or thought about it or plotted about it and suddenly I won’t have to do that anymore. I think there’s going o be a big hole in my brain where Artemis used to be…
K-Z: What are you going to do with your criminal impulses now they won’t have Artemis as an outlet any more?
EC: I am launching a new series in 2013 called W.A.R.P. There are quite a few criminals in this one but they are not the heroes this time. They are the bad guys so I’ll still have an outlet.
K-Z: Do you have a favourite book in the series at all?
EC: I’m very fond of the second book which is called, ‘The Arctic Incident’ because that was the book I realized I could keep the series going.
K-Z: Artemis is a fantastic villain and an anti-hero. Could give me your top three tips on creating a villain? What do you do to make a villain truly villainous but likeable?
EC: I think if a villain is likeable he has to have a certain amount of charm and charisma. And I think if we can understand why he’s a villain that really helps.
K-Z: Do you have a favourite joke or a favourite prank you can share with us?
EC: Well I’m not really a prankster but once I was working with this guy who is a friend of mine and he was always playing pranks on me, hiding my coffee cups or whatever. So one time I did the most elaborate prank: I got his paycheck and I got matching paper from a friend of mine who is a printer. So I printed his paycheck and I took off $500 for a tax and then I put it in the official envelope and just left it with all the other paychecks. When he picked it up he went nuts. He got on the phone to the Tax Office and was shouting at them. I let him stay on the phone for 10 minutes before I told him it was me. He didn’t forgive me for several weeks. I haven’t done anything since then, I retired at the top.
K-Z: Can you tell us any secrets about your new series W.A.R.P? Is it more technology based than supernatural?
EC: Yes. There’s some quantum physics but that’s the only piece of supernatural. I suppose it’s a little bit punk and it’s a little bit comedy and there’s an awful lot of adventure. It’s set in Victorian London and modern day London. W.A.R.P stands for the Witness Anonymous Relocation Program. It’s about a special FBI unit who find out about a time tunnel and they use it to hide federal witnesses in the past. That’ll be out this time next year!
Eoin Colfer
