FamousFeatures.co.uk – Media Alert

Birthdays!

By Sally Windsor, FF Editor.

Today is my mum Brenda’s 70^th birthday. 70! She had me when she was 40, and I was always the one at school with the older mum. ‘Is that your granny?’ some of the other children used to say to me.   But I didn’t mind, in fact – I sort of liked it. It made me feel that my mum was special, which to me, she was of course.

Earlier this year, I celebrated my 30^th birthday with more of a whisper than a bang. Not really in the party mood in the snow of January, I settled for a family dinner and a DVD, rock and roll!   Mum however, will be having an outdoors party this afternoon in the garden with cupcakes galore. Here’s hoping it will be a birthday to remember, for all the right reasons.

Of course, everyone has had the kind of birthday that has not gone so well. When I was 11, I tripped over and cracked my front tooth. Then there was the neighbour who set their own house on fire – on their 40^th birthday. Can you imagine?!?  For good or bad, if you’ve had a birthday to remember, why not tell us about it?  If it was a day you’ll never forget for all good or bad reasons – we’d love to hear about it.

And if you’ve got a birthday around the corner, have a fabulous day – and don’t forget to send us a cupcake… buttercream icing please!

CALLING IN ALL YOUR SUMMER STORIES

By Alexandra McGowan

Hi everyone,

FINALLY, it’s happened! The sun is officially shining again, and here at the Famous Features office we are all looking forward to our holidays after a long, cold winter.

Cocktails, summer wardrobes and sunscreen are just a few of the things we love about jetting off to sunnier climes.

But very often, we come back with incredible stories to tell, too – as well as a few extra pounds around the waistline and sunburn.

Take Angela Grant, for example, whose holiday horror story about being impaled on hundreds of sea urchins we sold to Real People magazine. Look out for it in the next few months.

Not to mention the number of people who come back from holiday having suffered horrific food poisoning, blisters the size of walnuts because of extreme sunburn, or even something more horrifying like a brush with a shark.

We want to hear all these stories, and, just as importantly, see what pictures you have to accompany them. Those pictures could get you a great deal with a national magazine or newspaper.

Then there’s the minefield of holiday romances. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. We would love to hear about both scenarios – are you having a romantic wedding in the resort where you met five years ago?

Or perhaps you were conned by a bronzed love-rat, lulled into a false sense of security by one too many Tequilas? Get in touch. We can help sell your story.

There are also the more tragic, harrowing stories, which we get out there as a warning to others – perhaps one of your children had a terrible accident in a resort that didn’t follow health and safety procedures.

We will endeavour to tell your story with the utmost sensitivity and care, ensuring that the message is communicated to the 11 million people who read the magazines we sell to, but done in the way that you feel comfortable with.

Whatever the situation, summer means stories. So please give me a call: 01293 459808, or email me at alex@famousfeatures.co.uk.

Cheerio!

Love is in the air

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone. Well, nearly. The big day is approaching, and it’s an event that divides everyone into two groups.

Firstly, the Smug Marrieds and Taken – those of you happily in love with your partners, laughing at the rest of us who are single and lonely.  We want to hear your stories of love and romance – week-long extravaganzas of gifts and serenading, as in the case of Britain’s most romantic man, Andrew Nellis.  He took girlfriend Jodie away on a series of surprise trips, a helicopter ride and even a ride on a Venetian gondolier to propose.  He spent £13,000 making it the perfect romantic week, and we sold his story to Pick Me Up magazine and Your Life in the Daily Mirror.

But what about those Valentine’s Day stories that go wrong?  We’ve heard of girls going to the hairdresser’s for the day, determined to become peroxide for the big Valentine’s date, only to have a hair-dye disaster.  Losing your hair as you eat a romantic candle-lit meal? Doesn’t sound too amorous from where we’re standing. But we would still like to hear your stories.

Valentine’s is also a day to put pressure on relationships. Massive pressure from the media to have a ‘perfect day’ with your loved one often outs problems you’re having as a couple into sharp focus.  We’ve listened to girlfriends who moan that their fellas spend all day every day on the internet, not paying them any attention in the slightest.

Then there’s the ladies who get their revenge – dumping their men on Valentine’s Day by sticking up posters of them in their cities, advertising to every unsuspecting woman that their ex is a love rat to avoid.

We want to hear all your great Valentine’s Day stories, whether they’re happy, sad, or just plain crazy. Any special marriage proposals? Did your man dress up in your clothes to get down on one knee? Or did you catch him in bed with your best mate?  Selling your story to one of the top national magazines or newspapers is the best way to get your story across effectively, in the way that you want.

On a sadder note, there are also some tragic Valentine stories out there. Sons who died in car crashes, hours away from delivering their presents to their girlfriends the following day.  Telling your story can help spread a message – whether it’s to stop people from speeding, or get revenge on a cheating boyfriend who broke your heart.

We negotiate the best fee for your story, and tell it in the way you want it to be told.  So get in touch, and share your February stories with the Famous Features team.

Karma, karma, karma, karma…come on and sell your story!

We all know what karma is, don’t we?

What goes around comes around…what comes up, must come down and all the rest of it.

Basically, it means that whatever you do comes back to you somehow. So, if you cheat someone, betray them or hurt them, somehow the bad luck will come back to you.

We marvel at karma in this office, where we sit selling your stories to the national magazines and newspapers. You wouldn’t believe the amount of karma stories we get though the door. Take Sinead McNamee, whose story will be published in Take a Break Specials magazine in March. She gave everything she had to her boyfriend when he told her he had no money. She covered his rent, paid for his share of a holiday to Kenya and didn’t pressure him to pay her back.

One day, however, she logged onto her online banking site and discovered he’d gambled away nearly £2,000 of her money on internet poker sites.  We won’t spoil the rest of the story for you, but needless to say, the rogue boyfriend was convicted of fraud and theft. And Sinead has now moved on with her life.

Sinead decided to share her story to warn others about the conmen lurking out there. And you could say that’s HIS bad luck is coming back to haunt him!

It’s exactly the same when a rape victim comes forward and tells their story. It’s not about the money, it’s not about ‘selling your soul’ – it’s making sure these people don’t get the chance to hurt anyone again.

Have you got a Valentine’s story from the past? Someone who hurt you, someone you’d like to expose? Famous Features is the way to put a story forward sensitively and in the way you feel comfortable with.  Or what about Easter? The family get together, still seething from the Christmas rows you had, and tempers flare. Have you had a fallout with someone in your family?

Selling your story could be the perfect way to get the story across to the people you want to reach out to, without changing any of the facts or breaking any laws.  Our journalists are all experienced and talented in the field of real-life features, and want to help you get the biggest and best deal for your story.

So email or call – we are waiting to hear your amazing yarns and help you sell your story!

Tell us your story here:  www.FamousFeatures.co.uk

Or call us on 0845 83 88 555