Not from the Onion.

From the Guardian:

Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell claims to have hung up her hotpants and Union Jack boots for the last time, today embarking on a new career as a children's author.

Wait.  Didn't this already happen?  Well, whatever.  We'll see how it goes.

No, wait -- now I feel totally comfortable in making up my mind before I read the book:

"...each instalment of the book will end with a newsletter in which Ugenia sums up what she has learnt from her experience, concluding with shrewd and concise moral aphorims such as "face your fear"."

Yecch.

[Later:  Also not from The Onion.  (via Finding Wonderland)]

Comments

[Brian F.]

What bothers me most about these celeb-turned-author stints is that they always choose children's books. As if they've decided that would be an easy thing to do. Want to write a book but don't think you've got a "real" book in you? Write a book for kids.

I sadly know many writers who, unable to get published as romance writers, decided that the next best thing would be to write YA. Since when did YA become the "fallback" form of writing? And was I the only one offended by Sherman Alexie's recent statement that YA writing was "stripped down" adult writing?

Maybe I'm being too cynical. Maybe Geri Halliwell really has had a burning desire for years to write for children. But then why, everytime I hear a new celeb is writing a book for kids, do I feel like it's just another publicity stunt?

[TadMack]

As I originally read the article, I was just sort of gobsmacked... it just kept getting worse. Aphorisms? And that would work for WHAT other author!? Um, Aesop, maybe? And he's worn it out. I *assume* Mr. Dog has written his own ...rhymes for years, but OY, does some rap have forced rhyme. And that is also completely UNACCEPTABLE in most children's lit. I cringe in advance -- which is unfair. So, I'm not doing it. I'm just thinking about cringing. And look, I've even stopped doing that. Now.

Really.

[Lisa Yee]

Sigh.

[Leila]

I didn't read the 'stripped down' comment as condescending towards the YA -- I read it as similar to the "YA books are like adult books without all the bullshit" line. Both, sure, are sweeping generalizations about the genre. But I see good YA (we're not talking The Clique here) as being maybe MORE difficult to write than adult stuff, in the same way that short stories seem (to me, a non-writer) like a more difficult undertaking than a novel because of the stripped-down aspect.

I dunno. Did that make any sense?