How Geri Halliwell went from Ginger Spice to children's book author

Sure, she was part of one of the biggest girl groups of all time. But Geri Halliwell — aka Ginger Spice — says writing, not performing, was her favorite part of her two years as a Spice Girl.

"I'm no Mariah Carey. I haven't got the range," Halliwell tells TODAY.com, laughing. "But I loved the writing part. I always liked when I was helping writing the scripts or songwriting — I felt confident."

That's why those closest to her aren't surprise by her turn as a children's book author. "I've always been a book-loving nerd. I just love books," she says, adding that she studied English literature and theater before turning toward the entertainment industry.

Halliwell began writing her "Ugenia Lavender" series in 2004. The main character in the series, geared at young readers, was loosely based on her. Some of her famous friends, like George Michael and Gordon Ramsey, made appearances.

"It's like being a chef and making recipes. You take different bits of different people," she says.

Six books of "Ugenia Lavender" later, and Halliwell is moving on to another series, this time for middle grade readers. "Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen" follows an orphan who is sent to Bloodstone Island ("it's like Jurassic Park but for endangered species") and roped into participating in its game.

This is the latest iteration in Halliwell's many career shifts after leaving the Spice Girls in 1998, two years after their smash hit "Wannabe" debuted.

Even as her star rose, Halliwell says she hasn't traveled far from her inner child. "It never goes away," she says, crediting "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron for "waking her creativity up."

Being a mom, if anything, has woke up her inner adult. Halliwell has daughter Bluebell, 11, from a previous relationship, and welcomed Monty, short for Montague, with husband Christian Horner in 2017.

"I think my son teach me how to be an adult. He's doing Lego for like, 18-year-olds. He's very studious at following instructions," she says.

Halliwell has been married to Christian Horner, team principal of the Red Bull Formula One team, since 2015. Horner, she says, is not much of a reader — except for when it comes to her books. (On the day "Rosie Frost" came out, Horner posed a selfie with the book).

"He doesn't really read. I wrote 'Rosie Frost' for the reluctant reader. Finally, he said he'd read it. He said, 'Oo, it's much better than I thought it would be. I couldn't put it down. I just wanted to know what happens next,'" she recalls him saying.

She doesn't think she cured his reading, but "he definitely enjoyed it."

"I felt like my work was done," she says, laughing.

Horner might not share Halliwell's love of reading, but she says she loves his pursuit of driving. As for whether she's a good driver? "Well, he'd have his view on that. You know, husbands and their partner's driving..."

Working in different sides of the entertainment industry, they've had lessons for each other. "Rosie Frost" took nine years, and al lot of discipline, to come together — which Halliwell credits to her husband.

"When I'm creative I can go off and get lost. He says, 'You've got to have goals and disciplines. You've got to give yourself deadlines," she says. She's also learned the "power of being a team."

After writing books for elementary schoolers and middle graders, would she consider writing for adults? Halliwell's memoir came out in 1999.

"I did that when I was 26. That's not even half alive. Hopefully, that's a quarter. So, we'll see," she says.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com