Geri turns her hand to writing

First there was the pop career, then came a stint with the UN, and now Geri Halliwell has announced a new profession - she has become a children's author.The former Spice Girl's creative juices began flowing when she became pregnant with her daughter Bluebell Madonna, now 11 months old.Geri said that the process of creating the book's heroine, nine-year-old Ugenia Lavender, was "like a rebirth".However those expecting a simple children's book may be surprised to hear that Geri cites CS Lewis, Enid Blyton and Oscar Wilde among her literary influences.The UN Goodwill Ambassador, who recently announced she was quitting the pop world, was signed up by Macmillan Children's Books after calling the managing director of the publishing house out of the blue.The aspiring JK Rowling follows in the footsteps of Madonna, who has also taken up children's writing, although the Queen of Pop had not heard of Enid Blyton.Geri said: "One of the greatest gifts in life is actually to love what you do. For me, writing Ugenia Lavender is one of them. When I write these stories about Ugenia I feel like I'm going on an adventure."Ginger Spice will read audio editions of her books, and the six-part in the series will be published in hardback, one a month, from May to October next year.© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

ITN | April 12, 2007

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