Eoin Colfer
- Name: Eoin Colfer
- Date of Birth: 1965
- Place of Birth: Wexford, Ireland
- Siblings: Four Brothers
- Previous job: Primary School Teacher
I never liked traditional heroes much. Too many muscles and too much Lycra. They always had glittering eyes too, usually grey with a slight flaw. How do you get your eyes to glitter anyway, carry a stash of candles in your cape pocket?
Heroes always know what to say. Whenever the bad guy is defeated, the hero has a clever quip prepared for the moment. Time for you to cool down, Mister Freeze. Not so funny now, is it, Joker. Stuff like that. It was always a little pat for me. I remember reading about these heroes and nurturing a secret hope that for once the baddie would win. He would roll his eyes and say: Oh please, enough with the one-liners and fake tan, and blast the hero with his jelly-ray.
I think this particular brand of hero was too perfect for me. My peers had kindly pointed out my own imperfections to me so I knew that I could never be a hero like that.
This is why I have always preferred the flawed hero. Someone who doesn't want to be there, doesn't look cool while he is there and is definitely not equipped to do the job required of him. This, I thought, could be me.
And no cheating, please. No being the chosen one who appears normal only to discover magical powers at the last minute. What can I do? Sob, sob. I am a mere mortal. Sob. Oh look, there are balls of flame shooting from my fingers. That explains the mysterious ball of flame shaped birthmark on my buttock that I was ridiculed for in gym class.
Barney from Stig of the Dump was my kind of hero. A normal chap who falls into a hole. For weeks after reading this book, I went around looking for chalk pits. Huckleberry Finn was another one. This guy hated school, loved rafts and swore a lot. Me. Me. Me.
A good hero is a character that you would love to be. A great hero is so well-drawn that you feel that it's just possible that you could be this person. Heroism could happen to you too.
Eoin Colfer
Eoin Colfer grew up in Wexford, Ireland. Both Eoin Colfer's parents were teachers and Eoin was taught by his dad at Wexford's Christian Brothers primary. He remembers his dad's presence in school as "witty... he made school fun." He first developed a passion for writing in primary school, reading Viking books inspired by his history lessons at the time. Eoin's first attempt at serious writing came in the sixth grade: "I wrote a play for the class about Norse Gods. Everyone died in the end except me." Eoin followed in his parents' footsteps and became a teacher. He liked to end each day with ten minutes of reading with his students. "I'd find myself elaborating if I saw the interest flagging," he says, "I'd find myself elaborating if I saw the interest flagging," he says, "I'd add in gory bits. In the end I maede up my own stories." In 2001 the first Artemis Fowl book was published and he was able to resign from teaching and concentrate fully on writing. Eoin lives in the seaside town of Wexford, Ireland, where he grew up, with his wife Jackie and their two sons, Sean and Finn.
