Artemis Fowl: Fairies, Fiends and Flatulence, various venues across the uk

The Artemis Fowl creator Eoin Colfer, 43, resumes his live stand-up show, which is touring the UK, later this week. The former primary school teacher, who lives in the seaside town of Wexford, Ireland, published his first Artemis Fowl novel about a brilliant boy criminal in 2001. He has now written six in the fantasy series, the latest being Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox.

Colfer's first children's novel, Benny and Omar, was a bestseller in Ireland in 1998. He wrote it in longhand in school notebooks, until he finally got a computer after the third novel, The Wish List. But it wasn't until he wrote Artemis Fowl some years later that he threw in the towel with teaching. The first book took around 18 months to write, says Colfer. "I had to establish the universe so it took more planning. But it is set in a fantasy land so there wasn't so much research."

His series has sold more than seven million copies worldwide, but he never expected it to take off in such a big way. "It suddenly dawned on me what this involved financially," says Colfer. "I got an advance of £40,000 for the first Artemis Fowl book – but within a month the sum went up to six figures in America.

"I was worried by all the hype. There were huge expectations when it came out. The pressure was enormous. But after the fourth book I started to relax."

The series follows the teenage criminal mastermind Artemis, who lives in a universe full of supernatural creatures; the character is based on Colfer's little brother, Donal.

In his live show, Colfer uses old family slides and anecdotes about his childhood to connect the characters from his books to the characters from his life. He says: "My little brother Donal was a cheeky chappie in his youth. He looked like a little James Bond villain. He is delighted to be the inspiration behind the book's main character."

Touring the UK from 10 to 17 August (www.eoincolfer.com)