PRE-TEENS take note, Watford pop queen Geri Halliwell, who wowed the crowds back in your mums' day as part of singing girl power sensation The Spice Girls, is back to win over a whole new generation of fans. Only this time around, her hometown gig will be signing copies of her new children's books at Tesco.

Ugenia Lavender, Geri's first book, tells the story of its eponymous nine year-old heroine and her daily trials and tribulations. Each book in the series contains three stories plus Ugenia's Big News, Top Tips and extra Brain Squeezer puzzle pages.

The easy-to-read series starts with Ugenia adjusting from a life of globe-trotting adventure with her dinosaur expert dad and TV presenter mum to settling down in suburban Britain. At first Ugenia despairs. She has a new school to contend with, the pupils are mostly hostile and her house is far, far too beige for Ugenia's liking.

Hertfordshire readers will note that Ugenia lives in a town called Boxmore. I ask Geri if it's based on the similarly spelled Hemel Hempstead suburb of Boxmoor.

"As a writer I get inspired by different bits, so it's never just one place," she says. "It's loosely based on a new town. Slough is in there, and Watford where I grew up. My mum worked in the Harlequin and I saw it being built. It's good to see the town is moving with the times."

As we talk (Geri has called my house from LA), the single mum is giving safety instructions to her staff to keep daughter Bluebell, aged 23 months, out of harm's way.

I wonder if Geri had her daughter in mind when she began writing books.

"When I first started out Ugenia was much younger, but the more I wrote and the more I got into her world and developed her character, she just turned out older and the stories became more detailed."

So do the stories have a message for young girls today?

"I think so, but in a very light way. I try not to be too moralistic but there is a message in there, and that is change is scary but it's good for your soul and fear is part of it.

"A book can work on different levels. It can be inspiring, challenging and colourful. I tried to create a character that was very real rather than all fluffy.

"There's humour in there and the books relate to contemporary issues for working families where mum goes off to work early in the morning and dad is a sensitive intellectual."

Geri has obviously had fun with the language, which varies from Ugenia's first-person diary to the third person stories and puzzles, giving children a choice of writing styles to contend with.

"I tried not to make them too heavy or descriptive. I like playing with words like ingenious or diplodocus."

Given that Ugenia's parents have decided to settle in one place to establish a more routine lifestyle for their only daughter, is Geri planning on settling in one place?

"Not right now. Children are adaptable at any age and they think it's cool to travel. They need continuity and routine but not to the extent where each day is mapped out."

I can't help noticing that in one of the stories, Ugenia and her love interest Will Darcy win the school disco dancing competition and get to sit on thrones. The scene conjures up images of David and Victoria's lavish wedding ceremony back in 1999.

Will Geri be putting more clues to her life in the stories?

"You know what, no one else has picked up on that," she tells me.

"The stories are taken from things around me with just soft smiles to my life as I know it. The more the stories go on, the more hidden treasures there'll be. People show up and you'll think who's that? If you're really clever, you'll notice them."

Celebrate Geri's return to her hometown by coming to the Tesco Extra, Lower High Street this Saturday, where she'll be signing copies of her book from 3pm to 4pm.

Details: www.ugenialavender.com