In many ways, Geri Halliwell-Horner has always been a mother. A creative force (to be reckoned with!): she birthed chart-topping songs,iconic outfits, and hold-the-front-page moments long before she had kids.
Now the woman who, along with her Spice Girls colleagues, brought us Mother’s Day anthem Mama, is helping to inspire our children through her YA book series. The latest, Rosie Frost: Ice on Fire, a follow-up to Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen, has just come out and she’s been on a whirlwind US tour, before heading out to schools to share it with students.
The books, planned as a trilogy, focus on Rosie, a red-haired teen who is sent to Bloodstone Island – home to a school for extraordinary children, and a sanctuary for rare and endangered animals. She describes it as ‘magical realism with the volume turned up’.
As well as lashings of mystery and intrigue, the stories contain moments that are all too relatable for many young people, including bullying, body shaming and grief. Many of these are drawn from Geri’s own life, including the stark opening to the first novel where Rosie is pulled from class to be told her mother has died. ‘I was in a classroom studying Hamlet when I was called out and told my father was dead,’ she says.
The books have obviously struck a chord for many, as, when we meet Ice on Fire is sitting pretty at the top of the Amazon charts, with its precursor Rosie Frost: Falcon Queen not far below it.
Still, in spite of her professional success, she’s candid about the challenges of balancing life as an author with her number one role as a mother to two (Bluebell, 18; Monty, 8)as well as a stepmother (to Olivia, 11).
‘I think it's prioritising,’ says Geri, 52. ‘It makes me really think, okay, how important is this?’ She’s currently coffee in hand – brave for a woman who only wears white – and dealing with jet lag as a result of said prioritising. ‘I went and promoted Rosie because I'm really proud of her, and then I wanted to see my children, so I jumped on an aeroplane for 14 hours and spent three days with them so I could be part of their school holidays, and then jumped back on the aeroplane back to come and promote Rosie Frost in Britain, because my children are paramount to me.’
It's a feeling familiar to all mums – the constant tug between wanting to be available to your kids, but needing to reclaim some time for work or self. ‘I love being a mother, but then I want to give my creative work the energy and respect that I feel it deserves. It is one of those things which every mother reading this will identify with, that balance, the juggle, and sometimes I drop the balls.’
I have always suspected that Geri is, in part, so popular because of her relatability (a characteristic that Rosie also has in spades). Ginger Spice might be a household name who stands up in front of crowds of thousands, but at heart she is one of us. Her maternal instincts are clear to see as she, rather sweetly, brushes my fringe out of my face before we take a photo together.
Later, at an event to promote the new book, she asks the names of two babies who have come along with their parents. It’s that connection to others that compels her to write: ‘Rosie Frost, she's for everyone. She’s 14, which is the age of power, where you're really coming into your own and finding your own identity. But I think that happens in different periods of our life. There's different chapters in our life, and I think it's really helpful and useful when we see our own hearts beating across the pages.’
Writing, of course, is nothing new for Geri – who admits she loves the flexibility it offers her as a working mum – but novels have been a different beast. ‘Songwriting is storytelling, but it's almost like an espresso shot. Whereas a novel is a feast, it's a seven-course meal. But they're all storytelling, and they're connecting with you.’
Speaking of songwriting, no Spice fan worth their salt could leave a meeting with Geri without asking about potential plans for next year’s 30th anniversary, but we might have to wait a bit for news: ‘I am so grateful to every Spice Girls fan. They have showed up for me in this career, which is wonderful. That's so what heart-warming,’ she enthuses. ‘And I can understand the interest…what I will say, I think it's respectful to the other Spice Girls to come as one, to announce it as one. It’s our group, not my group.’
In the meantime, Geri is more than busy enough, nurturing her family and getting to work on that third Rosie Frost. And she’s not going to beat herself up if things get a bit chaotic balancing the two: ‘I think perfectionism kills art and whatever one's dream is, it’s good to allow yourself to, they call it “fail well”. When I try and be perfect, that's when I get it wrong. Actually, it’s the wonky edges that are far more interesting.’
Find out more about Rosie Frost: Ice on Fire