S18, Ep5 Geri Halliwell-Horner on writing, grief - and what the Spice Girls taught her
Oct 4, 2023
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Former Spice Girl and bestselling children's book author Geri Halliwell-Horner talks about her love of writing, the impact of the Spice Girls, dealing with grief, and the importance of aging with grace and power. She also discusses feeling like an outsider, seeking validation, facing rejection, and reflecting on missed opportunities.
Learning from our mistakes and embracing failure makes us stronger, emphasizing the value of courage in making courageous choices throughout life.
Friendship and connecting with others is valuable, as everyone has an interesting story to share and connecting with inspiring individuals can serve as role models.
Deep dives
The Power of Learning from Failure
Jerry Halliwell Horner discusses the importance of learning from our mistakes and how failure ultimately makes us stronger. She emphasizes the value of courage in facing fears and making courageous choices throughout life. Halliwell Horner shares personal experiences of making mistakes and the importance of listening to one's inner voice. She also reflects on her journey as a writer and the process of writing her young adult novel.
The Influence of Friendship and Role Models
Halliwell Horner highlights the significance of friendship and the value of connecting with others. She believes that everyone has an interesting story to share and that we can all find common ground and similarities. Halliwell Horner also discusses the importance of having role models and connecting with artists, musicians, and authors who inspire us.
The Importance of Aging with Grace and Power
Halliwell Horner shares her perspective on aging, acknowledging that every age brings a different chapter in life. She encourages embracing aging with grace and finding power within boundaries. Halliwell Horner discusses the concept of attraction rather than promotion, valuing authenticity and being an example rather than telling others how to be.
Lessons Learned from Backstory
Halliwell Horner reflects on the significance of understanding backstory, both in writing and in real life. She shares insights on the importance of knowing the motivations and desires of characters in order to make their actions and behaviors more authentic. Halliwell Horner applies this reflection to her own life and learning to understand the backstory of others, fostering empathy and connection.
On this week's episode, I welcome the all-singing, all-writing, all-dancing POWERHOUSE that is Geri Halliwell-Horner. She started out as Ginger Spice, in the most iconic girl band of all time (simple facts), the Spice Girls, selling over 100 million records worldwide. After the birth of her first child in 2006, she started writing while a single mother and released a series of bestselling children’s books - the Ugenia Lavender novels. Now, she returns with the publication of the young adult novel Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen, a mixture of fantasy and history carrying a message that we can all be our own heroes.
Geri joins me to talk about her love of writing (and why an early mentor was none other than William Boyd), not applying herself enough at school, why the Spice Girls belongs to everyone, how she dealt with grief after the death of her father and why it's morally important to her to 'age with grace and power.'
Geri is my second ever Spice Girl on the podcast (the first was the amazing Melanie Chisholm) and it is a podcast goal of mine to have them all on as guests. They were such an amazing and empowering part of my teenage life. Three more to go. CAN YOU IMAGINE? IT WOULD BE A DREAM COME TRUE.
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Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen by Geri Halliwell-Horner is out now and available to order here.