Los Angeles Author Stands Up to New York Publishing Giants by Taking Her Plea to Oprah

Los Angeles, CA, June 23, 2006 --(PR.com)-- Maria Veloso, author of "Midwinter Turns to Spring," the first-ever novel with its own music soundtrack consisting of songs that she wrote, stands up to the New York publishers that snubbed her innovative approach to novel-writing, by taking her plea to Oprah Winfrey. Considering Oprah to be the real benchmark as to whether the American people will embrace multi-media storytelling or not, she has launched a daring campaign to have her book nominated by 1 million people for Oprah's Book Club.

"I understand that a new paradigm, such as a novel with a music soundtrack, is looked upon with skepticism, and is often rejected by publishers because there's no evidence that it will sell," says Veloso, who subsequently self-published "Midwinter Turns to Spring. "But what the publishers don't see is that music is the ultimate way of enriching the fiction reader's experience because it intensifies the emotional involvement of the reader much like a film score intensifies the emotional appeal of a movie."

Outside publishing circles, Veloso's multi-media storytelling has met with rave reviews from readers, as well as members of the media, who have called her work "phenomenally important" and see it as "pioneering a next-generation genre in fiction." (Source: Tony Trupiano, host of the nationally syndicated Tony Trupiano Show, and author of 3 books)

"I just want to share my book and music with all the people whose lives could be changed by it," says Veloso. "I obviously can't compete with the mega-bucks of the giant publishers, who often allocate a national marketing budget of $1 million to land a book on the New York Times bestseller list. Therefore, I'm asking the American people - and the entire population of readers -- to nominate 'Midwinter Turns to Spring' for Oprah's Book Club because that's the best chance I have at touching and healing people's hearts through my novel and its music soundtrack. I'm seeking a million nominations in the hopes that Oprah, who has long encouraged reading in America, will be moved -- and will recognize that the multimedia storytelling approach done through a novel with a music soundtrack may boost readership especially among those who don't read novels at all."

To see real-time results and to nominate 'Midwinter Turns to Spring' for Oprah's Book Club, go to www.NominateMidwinterForOprah.com or text the word MIDWINTER to 47647.

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