Eoin Colfer was a primary school teacher when Artemis Fowl, his extremely successful first novel for children, was published in 2001. The series that followed has sold more than 18m copies worldwide, including 4.5m in the UK alone.

Colfer was born in Wexford, Ireland, in 1965. His latest book, And Another Thing, is a sequel to Douglas Adams’ bestselling The Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy series. Colfer lives in Ireland with his wife and two children.

Who is your perfect reader?

Anyone open to being surprised.

What books are currently on your bedside table?

Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín; [the comic book] Hellboy by Mike Mignola; The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

What book changed your life?

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, which I read when I was nine. It was the first time I identified with a character in a book.

When did you know you were going to be a writer?

I knew when I was 15 that I wanted to hold in my hands a book that I had written.

What is the strangest thing you’ve done when researching a book?

A parachute jump, for Airman. I realised, while writing that book, that it was more about falling than flying.

Who are your literary influences?

I love Terry Pratchett. He changed the way people look at fantasy novels.

Who would you like to be stuck in a lift with?

David Bowie and Lou Reed. I can’t think of two people who would have more stories to tell.

What are you scared of?

Crowds.

When do you feel most free?

Early in the morning. On holiday I get up two hours before everyone else, take a book and sit outside.

How do you relax?

I’ve just taken up boxing, which is a perfect antidote to my office work.

What book do you wish you’d written?

I would like to have created Sherlock Holmes, a character so original that it would last for a couple of hundred years.

Where is your favourite place in the world?

Slade, the Irish fishing village where I grew up.

What does it mean to be a writer?

When my books took off it meant freedom to me – to be able to turn my brain inside out and put what is inside on the outside, every day.

Eoin Colfer’s ‘And Another Thing’ is published by Penguin