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“Do you want to make a lot of money really easily?” So begins GOO$E, Janna Spark’s new novel about a topic that has perhaps never seemed more timely.

“It’s a story about money and morality, how need turns to greed and the consequences of compromised principles,” says Spark, (Ed.M., 1979), who obviously had no inkling, when she began writing the book a few years ago, of what would surface in the current financial crisis. “I’m fascinated by people’s perceptions, actions and reactions, and how seemingly honest individuals can outsmart anybody.” GOO$E is being published in England by Quartet Books, which is actively seeking a U.S. publisher.

 

Spark has been a published author since the early 1990s, but GOO$E is her first novel and her first book for adult readers. Her previous books include a multi-sensory literacy program, a musical fairytale and a unique anthology to benefit children harmed by war.

 

In addition to writing, Spark is an educational consultant and child psychologist with a private practice in London, where she has been based for 30 years. Among her many accomplishments, she founded and directed a summer school in Gstaad, Switzerland; is Advisor to the Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities, in Haifa, Israel; and serves as a member of the Â鶹ԭ´´ President’s Advisory Council. Of her time at Â鶹ԭ´´, Spark recalls, “My professors had deep humanity and humility, and were excellent role models and mentors.”

 

Which is more than you can say for certain characters nowadays—fictional or otherwise.