#sarah linwood

[zackprincebooks]

Father Ardelian: Wow, Lord Vane is so pleasant and gorgeo--I mean generous! I'm sure nothing untoward will happen to me while I'm at Whithern Hall.

Lord Vane, holding a ceremonial knife over a pagan sacrificial altar underground: what

Sarah, with her corkboard full of red string: Lord Rufus has been alive since the Wars of the Roses and the entire Rufus lineage has been swapping places over the past four hundred years to commit vampire fraud and I've been trapped into marriage with him for some sinister reason so if you find this letter I'm already dead

Lord Rufus, spending hours painstakingly painting a portrait of Sarah as a Renaissance saint: what

[zackprincebooks]

I decided to use my T4T Victorian vampire romance, The Mistress of Rosehorn Hall! It's spinster Sarah Linwood and her definitely-not-a-vampire husband, Lord Rufus!

We’re making moodboards! Specifically, we’re making moodboards that introduce your main character!

[blondie20000]

Books I have read in 2023. Rating out of 5 🌟

Drama

Lean Fall Stand by Jon McGregor. 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Rebel Robin (Stranger Things Novel) by A.R Capetta 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Runaway Max (Stranger Things Novel) by Brenna Yovanoff 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

The Rise of The Governor (The Walking Dead 1) by Jay Bonansinga 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

The Road to Woodbury (The Walking Dead 2) by Jay Bonansinga 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

The Fall of the Governer Part 1 (The Walking Dead 3) by Jay Bonansinga 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

The Fall of the Governer Part 2 (The Walking Dead 4) by Jay Bonansinga 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Mrs England by Stacy Halls 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry 🌟 🌟 🌟

Palace Rogue by William Coles by 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Romance

The Ex Hex (Ex Hex 1) by Erin Sterling 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

The Kiss Curse (Ex Hex 2) by Erin Sterling 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Hex Appeal by Kate Johnson 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Just Like Magic by Sarah Hogle 🌟 🌟 🌟

This Christmas by Emma Heatherington 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Thriller

Take Your Breath Away by Linwood Barclay 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Godspeed by Nickolus Butler 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Breathless by Amy McCulloch 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

The Shadow House by Anna Downes 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Watching You by Lisa Jewell 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell 🌟 🌟 🌟

The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

I Found You by Lisa Jewell 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Down by the Water by Elle Connel 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

The Chain by Adrian Mckinty 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

The Island by Adrian Mckinty 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Too Late by Colleen Hoover 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Verity by Colleen Hoover 🌟 🌟 🌟

Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben 🌟 🌟

Mystery

The Other Mother by Michel Bussi 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

The Sanatorium (Detective Elin Warner 1) by Sarah Pearse 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

The Retreat (Detective Elin Warner 2) by Sarah Pearse 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

The Christmas Killer (DI James Walker 1) by Alex Pine 🌟 🌟 🌟

Killer in the Snow (DI James Walker 2) by Alex Pine 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

The Winter Killer (DI James Walker 3) by Alex Pine 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Darkness on the Edge of Town (Stranger Things Novel) by Adam Christopher 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Silent Cry (Detective Gaby Darin 1) by Jenny O' Brien 🌟 🌟 🌟

Deal Breaker (Myron Bolitar 1) by Harlan Coben 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Drop Shot (Myron Bolitar 2) by Harlan Coben 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Fade Away (Myron Bolitar 3) by Harlan Coben 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Coffin Road by Peter May 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

The Cove by L.J. Ross 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Horror

This House Is Haunted by John Boyne 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

The Whistling by Rebecca Netley 🌟 🌟 🌟

Haunted by James Herbert 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

[lboogie1906]

Gloria Gaynor (September 7, 1943) is a singer, known for the disco-era hits “I Will Survive”, “Never Can Say Goodbye”, “Let Me Know (I Have a Right)”, and “I Am What I Am”.

She was born in Newark to Daniel Fowles and Queenie Mae Proctor. “There was always music in our house”. She enjoyed listening to the radio, and records by Nat King Cole and Sarah Vaughan. She had five brothers and one sister. Her brothers sang gospel and formed a quartet with a friend.

She was a singer with Soul Satisfiers, a jazz/R&B music band. She recorded “She’ll Be Sorry/Let Me Go Baby”. The fruit of that was the release of the flop single “Honey Bee.” She finally hit with the album Never Can Say Goodbye. The first side of the album consisted of three songs (“Honey Bee”, “Never Can Say Goodbye” and “Reach Out, I’ll Be There”) with no break between the songs. All three songs were released as singles and all became hits. The album was instrumental in introducing disco music to the public, “Never Can Say Goodbye” became the first song to top Billboard magazine’s dance chart, peaking at #9, and on the R&B charts, reaching #34, making it into the Top 5 in Australia, Canada, Germany, and the UK. The song would go on to be certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry, and gold in the US. Capitalizing on the success of her first album, she released her second album, Experience Gloria Gaynor. Some of her lesser-known singles, “Casanova Brown”, and “Let’s Make A Deal”, as well as her cover of The Four Tops’ “Reach Out, I’ll Be There”, became hits in the clubs and reached the Top 5 on Billboard’s disco charts. Many charted on the Hot 100 and R&B charts as well, with songs like “Do It Yourself” - a #1 disco hit - peaking at #98 on the Pop Charts and #24 on the R&B Charts. Her cover of “How High The Moon” topped the US Dance Charts, and made the lower parts of both the Pop and R&B charts, as well as achieving international chart success. She has recorded some 16 albums since, including one in England, one in Germany, and two in Italy. She married her manager Linwood Simon (1979-2005). She has no children. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[eduardomarin90]

McDonald’s | Coffee Day | Postlaunch from RUN ZËBRA RUN on Vimeo.

4th film for the National Coffee Day Campaign for McDonald's McCafé.

Production Company: Asteroide Film Directors: Giuliano Batista and Guilherme Pau y Biglia Art Direction / Design: Gabriel Russo and Luis Villanova Motion Graphics: RUN ZËBRA RUN Post Coordinator: Leonardo Scholz Account Manager: Leonardo Brodsky Agency: We Are Unlimited CCO: Toygar Bazarkaya ECD: Max Geraldo CD: Bruno Guimaraes CD: Brandon Crockett Group Account Director: Melanie Behling Account Director: Sarah Stahurski Assistant Account Executive: Mallory McDonald Social Strategist: Becca Toth Executive Producer: Jon Ellis Producer: Kelsey Barrentine Integrated Producer: Otto Linwood Audio Company: Canja Audio Culture Producer: Lucas Sfair, Filipe Resende, Pedro Osinski VO: Pete Stacker

[zackprincebooks]

It's vampires all the way down:

Sarah continues flipping through the book, but she already knew this information she already knew from her own family history. However, she is intrigued to see that Lord Arthur Rufus was also afflicted with a certain “fainting” disease and showed similar symptoms to her Lord Rufus: pale skin, lack of appetite, and swooning upon the sight of blood. While Lord Rufus hadn't swooned when Sarah cut her thumb, his tense expression suddenly makes more sense. She idly rubs her thumb with her opposite hand as she selects another book from the pile that Bert brought for her. Sarah had asked for books about the Rufus family, their stewardship of Rosehorn Hall, and lordship of Briar Garden. The pile sits by her left arm while she has a pen and paper by her right arm, full of notes she’s been taking for the last hour. Outside of the fainting disease, Sarah has noticed a few similarities between the various lords and ladies of Rosehorn Hall: many of them died abruptly; some at very young ages of unnatural causes. Lord Rufus’ mother and predecessor, Lady Agatha Rufus, drowned at sea and her body was never found. Lord Arthur Rufus didn’t survive long either and had to be succeeded by his cousin after he died in a hunting accident with a boar and a stray arrow. While it could be concerning that the Rufus lineage appeared beset with a bad stroke of luck, that was less concerning than the portraits in the books Sarah found. Their poor quality aside, perusing them unearthed a feeling of unease that grew with each page: Barring a few spouses who married in, all of the Rufus lineage looks like the same ten or twelve people. Putting the first book on her lap, Sarah reaches for another and begins flipping through until she finds a portrait of Lord Roland Rufus, who looks like Lord Arthur Rufus—who died two hundred years before Lord Roland was born!

Daily Sip 15

You can reblog this post.

You can make your own post.

You reblog someone else's snip!

Just tag it sipofsnips so everyone can find each other. ^.-

[mediaevalmusereads]

Year-End Reading Review: The Good, The Bad, and The Meh

Hello, gentle readers!

Below you will find 3 lists: books I read in 2021 that I liked ("The Good"), books I read in 2021 that I disliked ("The Bad"), and books I read in 2021 that I found enjoyable but not earth-shattering good ("The Meh"). Other than these three lists, the books aren't ranked or tiered in any way. For in-depth thoughts on each of these books, you can check out my Tumblr reviews or my Goodreads reviews.

Disclaimer: If your reading tastes are different than mine, that's perfectly ok! I'm not trying to tell anyone what to think about a book; I'm just reflecting on my own reading experiences from 2021.

The Good

Duke of My Heart by Kelly Bowen

An Unseen Attraction by KJ Charles

Pekolah Stories by Amanda Bales

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle

In the House in the Dark of the Woods by Laird Hunt

Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

The True Story of Pocahontas: The Other Side of History by Linwood Custalow

Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past by David Reich

The Devil Comes Courting by Courtney Milan

Wicked and the Wallflower by Sarah MacLean

My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf

The Devourers by Indra Das

Sweet Disorder by Rose Lerner

Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg

A Spark of White Fire by Sangu Mandanna

The Bad

Brothers of the Wild North Sea by Harper Fox

Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt

A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby by Vanessa Riley

The Route of Ice and Salt by Jose Luis Zarate

The Black Hawk by Joanna Bourne

Master of Crows by Grace Draven

Ravished by a Highlander by Paula Quinn

The Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt

A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean

On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers

A House of Rage and Sorrow by Sangu Mandanna

Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi

Radiance by Grace Draven

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

The Leopard Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt

The Meh

Cold Hearted Rake by Lisa Kleypas

Angel in a Devil's Arms by Julie Ann Long

Between the Devil and the Duke by Kelly Bowen

A Duke to Remember by Kelly Bowen

Something Like Love by Beverly Jenkins

A Seditious Affair by KJ Charles

Lady Derring Takes a Lover by Julie Ann Long

Bombshell by Sarah MacLean

Nobber by Oisin Fagan

Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh

When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare

Matrix by Lauren Groff

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole

Daring and the Duke by Sarah MacLean

Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean

True Pretenses by Rose Lerner

The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite

A Duke in Disguise by Cat Sebastian

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

The Wolf in the Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

The Rook by Daniel O'Malley

[achipmunkaskedmemynametoday]

Spell the month challenge!

...

Dead Scared, Sharon Bolton

Everblaze, Shannon Messenger

Circe, Madeline Miller

Empire of Storms, Sarah J Maas

Masquerade, Laura Lam

Blood Orange, Harriet Tyce

Elevator Pitch, Linwood Barclay

Rules for Perfect Murder, Peter Swanson

.

https://instagram.com/ghostybookclub?igshid=mxw83z429z3r

[zackprincebooks]

Actually, many of my characters don't go by their birth name:

Louis Keating, Sarah Linwood, Lord Rufus, Zesh Faryan, Asteria Ariti: All trans or nonbinary characters that changed their names and would be very discomfited to be called by their birth name. However, Lord Rufus, Zesh, and Asteria have a better relationship with their birth names than Louis and Sarah.

Sirene Metaxas: she changed her name in order to hide from her family, so hearing it would make her deeply distressed as it means people have either recognized her or they're talking about her disappearance and Sirene suddenly has to act like she doesn't know what they're talking about.

which oc does not go by their birth name? do they still use it for some occasions or not at all? how do they feel when they hear their birth name?

[weirdletter]

The Twisted Book of Shadows, edited by Christopher Golden and James A. Moore, Twisted Publishing, 2019. Cover design by Dyer Wilk, info: haverhillhouse.com.

Presenting an all-new horror anthology that shatters the mold… Mainstream publishers want all-star lineups. Small press publishers often can’t afford to pay pro rates… and even when they can, the names in the table of contents can be limited by the editor’s reach or effort. Bestselling horror, fantasy, and thriller authors Christopher Golden and James A. Moore knew there had to be a better way. Inspired by the efforts of legendary anthology Charles L. Grant, who helped move so many new writers in the horror community’s conversation, Golden and Moore teamed up with Haverhill House’s Twisted Publishing imprint to create... The Twisted Book of Shadows. Determined to pay pro rates, the editors crowdfunded the project, and then put the word out as far and wide as possible, loudly and repeatedly encouraging submissions by diverse voices, and recruiting a stellar editorial committee to read along with them, including Linda A. Addison, Nadia Bulkin, Rachel Autumn Deering, Lamar Giles, KL Pereira, and Lee Thomas. Out of seven hundred stories received through a blind submission process—none of the editors had any idea who the authors were—nineteen made the final cut. Within these pages you will find the beautifully weird side-by-side with terrifying nightmares, horrifying folklore, and hellish futures. Nineteen unique and haunting tales that truly earned their place in a book entitled… The Twisted Book of Shadows.

Contents: Introduction by LInda D. Addison “The Pale Mouth” by Melissa Swenson “Cake” by M.M. De Voe “Midnight Sun” by Andrew Bourelle “Smeared Star in Your Hands” by Sara Tantlinger “Liza” by Jeffrey B. Burton “The Birthing Pool” by Eoin Murphy “Elegy” by Sarah Johnson “Coyote” by Jason A. Wyckoff “Unto the Next” by Amanda Helms “At Least the Chickens are All Right” by Trisha J. Wooldridge “Groomed” by Liam Hogan “Beneath Her Skin” by KT Wagner “Brother Mine” by Rohit Sawant “Mirror, Mirror” by P.D. Cacek “Records of the Dead” by John Linwood Grant “Underground” by George Edwards Murray “Lydia” by Cindy O’Quinn “Angelmutter” by David Surface “For Every Sin, an Absolution” by Kristi DeMeester Author/Editor Biographies

[zackprincebooks]

Seven Sentence Sunday

Tagged by @the-golden-comet and @theaistired; thank you! Pulling from chapter seven of The Mistress of Rosehorn Hall. This is a pretty steamy chapter, so I'm cutting back before the spice:

The next time Sarah opens her eyes, she’s snugly tucked in bed. Above her, rain continues pelting the roof of Rosehorn Hall and thunder gently rumbles from far away. But pale light gently streams into her room as though the moon was high in the sky. It’s a cozy night to be in bed, and Sarah turns to snuggle into her pillow. Her pillow is firmer than she expected—and dressed in green paisley fabric, smelling of expensive cigars and old books. Lifting her head, Sarah’s dark eyes meet the golden gaze of Lord Rufus as his eyes open slowly. One of his arms cradles Sarah against his chest while his other arm is propped up on the pillow so he can rest his cheek against the palm of his hand.

Want to read more? Read here!

Tag list below! If you’d like to be added to or removed from the tag list, interact with this post here!

@the-golden-comet @wyked-ao3 @lorifragolina @burntblanc

@nczaversnick @glasshouses-and-stones @thatuselesshuman @mushroommanchanterelle @phoenixofthegreenwood

@ilovevewritingfanfic @lizurich @villian-lover7899 @rivenantiqnerd

@pastelpinkhobbies @satohqbanana @lychhiker-writes @owlsandwich

@leahnardo-da-veggie @dearunreliablenarrator @theboarsbride @theaistired

[zackprincebooks]

Sadly for Sarah in The Mistress of Rosehorn Hall, she's the last of the Linwood family alive. She has a sister-in-law named Anna, but after the death of Sarah's brother Harold, their already-chilly relationship turns ice cold.

Thankfully, Lord Rufus has asked for her hand in marriage--and he has quite an extensive family!

A long lineage, you could say...

Tilda is looking for her brother. Are there any family members in your story? Siblings? Parents? Uncles? Tell us about them!

[anamuseinglife]

Iditapod: Rainy Pass, Race Rookies, and Rohn Axe-Throwing

[sound of an axe hitting wood]

[men cheering]

Discordant voices: Ayyy! That was it! That was it hitting the bullseye

[theme music plays]

Casey Groves: Welcome to the Iditapod! It’s a podcast about dog mushing and the Iditarod, and… axe throwing? We’ll get to that in a few minutes. But first, here’s a word from our sponsor

[ad plays]

CG: Well, my friends, since the last time we talked, the more than four dozen sled dogs teams competing in the 2019 Iditarod have mushed, or are mushing, into the mountainous Alaska range. When mushers say these are the most technical sections of the trail, they mean it is an area where mistakes can be especially dangerous, and expert sled driving is of the utmost importance.

So, the Rainy Pass checkpoint on the frozen alpine Puntilla Lake, is a spot many mushers stop to prepare for the often tough trail ahead. But, not last years second place finisher Nic Petit, who stayed only a few minutes, long enough for race officials and veterinarians to check out his team and gear. In fact, looking at Petit’s checkpoint times on Iditarod.com, he hasn’t stayed more than a few minutes at any checkpoint in the face, except for Rohn, where he stayed a whopping 20 minutes. Instead, Petit has opted, as mushers will do sometimes, to avoid the hubbub of the checkpoints and camp his team out along the trail. They pick up straw, they pick up supplies from their drops bags, and they take that along with them down the trail and just do their own thing. That’s why, after having the lead earlier in the race, severals teams passed Petit on the way from Rohn down to Nikolai. That is a village on the upper Kuskokwim River, roughly 250 miles into the 1000 mile race.

While Petit rested from Rohn to Nikolai, the race GPS tracker shows the defending champ, the Norwegian by way of Willow, Joar Leifseth Ulsom, passed Petit’s team, as did several others, including Bethel’s Pete Kaiser, Montanan Jessie Royer, and Two River’s musher Aliy Zirkle. Ulsom was the first to arrive in Nikolai a little after 6:30 Tuesday morning. And, remember, the race just started Sunday in Willow with the race clock ticking, at the restart, so they’re covering a lot of ground here very quickly, as they do. And we’re looking forward to hearing more about how it went for the team’s runs from Rainy Pass to Rohn and Nikolai. While the race reached Nikolai Tuesday morning, we’re going to go back to Rainy Pass, where as Iditarod mushers make their way over the Alaska range, they find the last checkpoint for supplies and a rest at the Rainy Pass Lodge on Puntilla Lake. As Alaska Public Media’s Zachariah Hughes reports, it’s a good place to pause, maybe reflect, and definitely to prepare before heading towards the most technical sections of the trail.

[sounds of dogs and supplies moving]

Zachariah Hughes: Sarah Stokey pulls onto Puntilla Lake with a team of dogs that has been gradually climbing the Alaska Range.

Sarah Stokey: Hi

Unknown Voices: Bib number?

SS: 52

Voice 1: Perfect. We’re going to give you your bags here

Voice 2: Are you going to stay or are you going to rest? SS: I’m going to stay

V1: She’s gonna stay, ok

ZH: Stokey grabs three heavy drop bags full of supplies, and parks her dogs for a rest. She’s in good company, except for Nic Petit and Pete Kaiser, who flew through mid-morning, almost all of the teams at the front of the pack are taking a break. Checkpoint at the Rainy Point Lodge has a festive atmosphere. Frozen lake is covered with planes and helicopters that bring tourists for day trips, the rustic wooden building is ringed with picturesque mountain peaks. It’s not where Matt Hall would have chosen to stop, but he wanted a veterinarian to check out a dog’s toenail problem.

Matt Hall: Little noisy, but they rest good.

ZH: Hall came off the Yukon Quest a few weeks ago, and likes camping out with his team beyond the hubbub of checkpoints, but he knows that enough teams are likely to stop here that he can keep toward the front of the pack.

MH: It’s definitely an advantage, being toward the front early on, just because of that, you know, you get 20,000 dog feet over it, and 50 sleds, and it starts getting softer and softer, then as the heat of the day comes on to.

ZH: Hard packed, smooth trail that gets punchy and pulverized after heavy traffic is slower and more effort for the dogs. In the cool, early hours before many mushers had gone over, Linwood Fiedler says the trail heading up toward the Rainy Pass checkpoint was something to behold.

LF: I don’t think I’ve ever seen it better. It’s certainly one of the best trails ever. Yeah, I mean, it’s the Iditarod trail, but boy it’s pretty good shape.

ZH: Fiedler also wants to take advantage of the midday warmth, rest his dogs while the bright sun and relative warmth soften the trail.

LF: It’s just gonna get warmer and warmer and warmer, when it’s like this, 5 degrees, going up makes a huge difference. I mean, it’s just, you can just see that team kind of wilt [laughs] I mean, they’re like a car with no antifreeze in the radiator

ZH: After the lodge, the route keeps going up, until it hits Rainy Pass itself, it weaves back and forth, over a river, enveloped by steep mountain peaks on both sides. This year, trail crews had to build 20 bridge crossings over sections of open water. From Puntilla Lake, it’s 35 miles up and through the pass to the Rohn checkpoint. It’s a kind of dog driving that requires some finesse.

Jessie Royer: I’d have to say, my team is pretty controlled anyways.

ZH: Jessie Royer is in a good mood as she straws her dogs. It’s not just the pass that’s challenging, she says, what follows is the drops and turns of the gorge, and the bumps of the tunnels. Royer’s approach is to rest and charge her dogs, before embarking on the hours over the pass, but keep them moving, winding down their power, until all the technical stretches are behind them.

JR: I don’t stop until we get out of it all, so I do it all in one run. Cause otherwise, if you don’t if you stop in Rohn, you’re leaving with a fresh team right away on the buffalo tunnels, which is even worse. Buffalo tunnels is always worse than the gorge.

ZH: It’s a stage in the race when there’s strategy not just in reading the trail, but in using a dog teams relative restedness or fatigue to help navigate perilous terrain. From the Rainy Pass Lodge on the Iditarod Trail, I’m Zachariah Hughes.

Casey Groves: So between Rainy Pass and Nikolai, is the checkpoint of Rohn. To get there, the teams navigate some pretty treacherous sections, reaching the races highest elevation of 3,160 feet. I mean, it’s a mountain pass. You’re going on some pretty narrow trail, and there’s mountains and ravines, there are twists and turns, ups and downs, there’s some mushing on the edge of the ravine - it’s intense. If you want to get a look at it, I encourage you to google “Jeff King Dalzell Gorge”. The first video that should come up is from a very low snow year in 2014. Those sections of trail destroyed some sleds and destroyed some mushers dreams of reaching Nome that year. I first saw those sections of trail that same year, in 2014, from the safety of a helicopter. That was my rookie year on the Iditarod. But as a rookie, in the race, it must be daunting to hear the stories and then finally get up into the pass and see what you got yourself into. And, Jeff King’s a four time champion. He’s very experienced musher. He’s run the Iditarod as much as anybody competing in the race these days. But, in addition to the really competitive slate of mushers in this year’s Iditarod, which includes five past champions (King, one of them), nearly one in five Iditarod mushers this year is brand new to the race. As Ben Matheson reports, the ten rookies each set out on the trail with a deep range of skills and experiences.

Ben Matheson: 21 year old Martin Apayauq Reitan is coming off of Yukon Quest, in which he took home Rookie of the Year honors. But, he had a tough time managing his sleep during the race, something he wants to improve upon in his second 1000 mile race.

Martin Apayauq Reitan: We need to have a good time, and we’ll see if I’ll be able to race or if I’ll oversleep again, and then, you know, I’ll have to adjust my expectations, but I’ll try my best and have fun.

BM: Reitan lives on the north slope of Kaktovik, where, among other things, he guides polar bear viewing expeditions. After the race, he’ll skip the jet and instead mush his team north, to Kotzebue, where his dad will run the Kobuk 440. After that, it’s hundreds of miles north to and to the east, to Kaktovik, the same epic trip he made two years ago with his dad. Mushing is also a family affair for Jessica Klejka, who grew up the oldest of 7 kids running dogs in Bethel. Her passion for mushing also overlaps with her professional life - she’s a veterinarian. But Klejka says her professional knowledge can cause her to overthink things with her dogs.

Jessica Klejka: And so I see something happen and, you know, like if I toss a dog a piece of fish and he doesn’t eat it right away, I start going okay wait, what’s going on, why doesn’t he want to eat the fish. And I start smelling the fish, like is it okay, and - but for the most part I think it’s very advantageous because I get a lot of calls from mushers the last few weeks before Iditarod, asking a lot of questions, and it’s kind of fun.

BM: For more than two decades, Ed Hopkins from Tagish Yukon Territory, has been running the Yukon Quest, notching several top five finishes. But, after watching his wife, Michelle Phillips, running the Iditarod in recent years, he says the Iditarod temptation became hard to ignore.

Ed Hopkins: Actually, you get the itch, and I got the itch

BM: His team has already completed a 1000 mile race this year. Phillips ran the team to a 4th place finish in the Quest last months. Hopkins says the race-hardened dogs know more about the trail than he does.

EH: I’m a rookie in a lot of senses, like I don’t know some of the little hidden things that are out there that give advantage to a lot of other people, so, I’m just gonna go and do my own thing pretty much.

BM: Norwegian Niklas Wikstrand has worked with Pete Kaiser in Bethel for a few years, and gotten his race experience in brutal, Kuskokwim river conditions, and he’s been on a specific schedule to get the dogs the right racing experience.

Niklas Wikstrand: Going a little slower, rest enough, and that’s our teams main goal, to rest and run quite conservative, and make sure that as many dogs get to Nome, and just keeping the dogs happy and healthy.

BM: As the rookies navigate the races most technical and steep sections in the first couple days in the race, they’ll be one step closer to joining the elite club of Iditarod finishers. I’m Ben Matheson, in Anchorage.

Casey Groves: These rookie standings are definitely subject to change as teams leapfrog each other here in the race. At least check, Ed Hopkins was leading the rookies in 32nd place; then Richie Beattie in 34th; Sebastien Dos Santos Borges in 37th. There’s Jessica Klejka, who we just heard from, in 38th place; Niklas Wikstrand in 41st, Blair Braverman in 42nd, Ryan Santiago in 46th, Alison Lifka in 47th, Martin Apayauq Reitan in 48th, and bringing up the rear, in 52nd place, Victoria Hardwick.

At least check, all the rookies in this years race still yet to reach the checkpoint of Rohn, and I want to mention Rohn real quick. It’s not really a community or anything, they’ve listed it at population zero, it’s basically just a cabin or a roadhouse they call it, and definitely the population swells when it’s an Iditarod checkpoint. They’ve got veterinarians there to checked the dogs, they’ve got race officials - and of course, they’ve got mushers coming in. And, different Iditarod checkpoints have totally different flavors. Some are hectic, full of visitors and volunteers; others are literal ghost towns, nestled quite deliberately in the middle of the wilderness.

The Rohn checkpoint is the latter, with hardly any amenities or distractions. The volunteer staffers have to find ways to amuse themselves, in the lulls, when there are no mushers - it might be a little boring, they’re trying to entertain themselves. This year, as Alaska Public Media’s Zachariah Hughes found out, they are throwing axes.

[sound of an axe hitting wood, men cheering]

Men’s voices: Aha! That was it? That was the bullseye, dead center, that’s perfect!

Zachariah Hughes: Like, what’s the right technique for doing it? Like, when you’re giving someone an introductory lesson, how do you explain it?

Man’s Voice [Unknown]: Uh, normally I ask, you know, right or left handed. If you’re right handed, you want your left hand on the bottom, right hand on top, you know I try to keep everything in a straight line and use your whole body.

ZH: What are you guys doing right now? MV: Axe throwing? Yeah, we’re axe throwing

[sound of an axe, throwing]

MV: [loudly] Yeah! That was it, that was perfect

ZH: The Rohn checkpoint is mostly just a cabin, it’s in a clearing in a pretty wooded area, just after the Dalzell gorge, near a river, they’ve got some arctic ovens set up, some snow machines, there’s an outhouse, but - mostly it’s a one room cabin from 1910 that the Parks Service maintains. Nowadays, it’s a shelter cabin.

Woman’s Voice: We find something to do, we tell our stories

ZH: Throw weapons

WV: Well, we don’t allow guns out when the mushers are here, but pre and post race we do a little target shooting. But, I asked Mark to bring an axe, because I’ve always wanted to do this. I’ve never done this before.

ZH: Oh, and you guys knew each other before this?

WV: I met him last summer at the lumberjack show.

ZH: Mm.

[sound of axe thudding]

ZH: The volunteers here have to be a little bit more hardy than at other places, because they’re left out here mostly unsupported, it’s basically camping.

WV: Well, there’s nobody lives here year round, so we all come out for Iditarod, because we like dogs, we like going to remote places in Alaska, meeting people from all over, and it’s a satisfaction of helping people get down the trail, whether it’s snow machining, or walking, or mushing dogs, so it’s a good camaraderie feeling of Alaska.

ZH: Do you like throwing the axe? WV: Yeah, it feels good. You should give it a try.

[sound of axe thudding, woman yells “nice!”]

Man’s Voice: And when you release, you want kind of to release high so the axe carries down into the target, because it’s heavy

ZH: Do you guys always do this every year, out here? MV: This is my first year, so no, I don’t think so? But maybe from now on [laughs] I got started in college as a collegiate sport, so it’s called the woodsmen’s team in college, and so I competed collegiately. Me personally, I ended up doing well enough at the end of my four years, I was able to go pro, and then I competed professionally and also did lumberjack shows.

ZH: Is that what brought you up to Alaska?

MV: Yeah, I did a show for Great Alaska Lumberjack Show in Ketchikan Alaska, I did that for four years, one of my good friends, Tina Sheer, owns a show in May, and she’s the one that did a show at the Alaska State Fair, and she’s actually worked the Rohn checkpoint too, in the past.

[axe thuds]

Casey Groves: I still have a lot of questions about Zach throwing axes. And, that’s a contrived segue to today’s listener question! It’s actually two related questions in Aaron Knight’s language arts classes out in Unalaska

Alyssa; My name’s Alyssa, I’m also from Unalaska, and my groupmates are Michelle, Natalie, and Alyssa-Marie, and our question is have any of the mushers got hurt, and did they have to stop participating in the race?

Aaron: Hi, my name is Aaron, my groups are Matius and Zach, what happens if the dogs got hurt?

CG: Thanks for listening, and thanks for the great questions everybody. So, what happens when there are injuries on the trail? Here’s our trail reporter, Zachariah Hughes, with the answer.

Zachariah Hughes: If the dog’s hurt, his or her musher will leave it at a checkpoint. The veterinarians take care of it and the Iditarod takes over, they’ll take groups of dogs who are hurt, or dropped, or sick, and move them back to Anchorage, or somewhere where a handler or somebody who knows the musher picks up the dog and takes care of it for a while. Mushers, unless they’re really really hurt, will keep going. One time, Aaron Burmeister broke his knee coming down the Dalzell Gorge, and he finished the Iditarod hundreds of miles later, limping over the finish line, but he made it. So, other times mushers will fall of their sleds and crack ribs and maybe withdraw or maybe keep going, they are pretty tough and it’s really up to them, if they’re hurt, if they want to keep trying to finish the race.

CG: Thanks for getting that answer to us Zach, and as always I want to remind the listeners that you can send your questions to iditarod@alaskapublic.org. The best way to do that and maybe get on the podcast is to open up your smartphone, find that voice memo app, record your question in your own voice, and send that to iditarod@alaskapublic.org and that’s the best way to get your answer. Well, everybody that’s all the time we have for today, our theme music is by the band Sassafrassh, I’m your host Casey Groves, and until next time - happy tails.

Linwood Fiedler: You just gotta be ready to be game on and not be sleepy [laughs] so.

ZH: How are you gonna do that?

LF: How am I gonna do that? I’m gonna try and take an hour nap here. [laughs]

ZH: Out here, like in the sled bag?

LF: You know, I may lay down with them, or I guess there’s a little cabin we can get in if we want.

ZH: But you don’t have like an exoskeleton for the gorge?

LF: [laughs] No. My head hits a tree, is what’s gonna happen.

ZH: Well I hope you make it out in one piece, thanks a lot man, take care

[lboogie1906]

Gloria Gaynor (born September 7, 1943) is a singer, known for the disco era hits "I Will Survive", "Never Can Say Goodbye", "Let Me Know (I Have a Right)", and "I Am What I Am". She was born in Newark to Daniel Fowles and Queenie Mae Proctor. "There was always music in our house". She enjoyed listening to the radio, and records by Nat King Cole and Sarah Vaughan. She had five brothers and one sister. Her brothers sang gospel and formed a quartet with a friend. She was a singer with Soul Satisfiers, a jazz/R&B music band. She recorded "She'll Be Sorry/Let Me Go Baby". The fruit of that was the release of the flop single "Honey Bee." She finally hit with the album Never Can Say Goodbye. The first side of the album consisted of three songs ("Honey Bee", "Never Can Say Goodbye" and "Reach Out, I'll Be There") with no break between the songs. All three songs were released as singles and all became hits. The album was instrumental in introducing disco music to the public, "Never Can Say Goodbye" becoming the first song to top Billboard magazine's dance chart, peaking at #9, and on the R&B charts, reaching #34, making it into the Top 5 in Australia, Canada, Germany, and the UK. The song would go on to be certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry, and gold in the US. Capitalizing on the success of her first album, she released her second album, Experience Gloria Gaynor. Some of her lesser-known singles, “Casanova Brown", and "Let's Make A Deal", as well as her cover of The Four Tops' "Reach Out, I'll Be There" — became hits in the clubs and reached the Top 5 on Billboard's disco charts. Many charted on the Hot 100 and R&B charts as well, with songs like "Do It Yourself" - a #1 disco hit - peaking at #98 on the Pop Charts and #24 on the R&B Charts. Her cover of "How High The Moon" topped the US Dance Charts, and made the lower parts of both the Pop and R&B charts, as well as achieving international chart success. She has recorded some 16 albums since, including one in England, one in Germany, and two in Italy. She married her manager Linwood Simon (1979-2005). She has no children. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence https://www.instagram.com/p/CiM6Kt4OMTARrhm_nAVZDCtoU9W54Gv9zykv9Y0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[eduardomarin90]

McDonald’s | Coffee Day | Prelaunch from RUN ZËBRA RUN on Vimeo.

1st film for the National Coffee Day Campaign for McDonald's McCafé.

Production Company: Asteroide Film Directors: Giuliano Batista and Guilherme Pau y Biglia Art Direction / Design: Gabriel Russo and Luis Villanova Motion Graphics: RUN ZËBRA RUN Post Coordinator: Leonardo Scholz Account Manager: Leonardo Brodsky Agency: We Are Unlimited CCO: Toygar Bazarkaya ECD: Max Geraldo CD: Bruno Guimaraes CD: Brandon Crockett Group Account Director: Melanie Behling Account Director: Sarah Stahurski Assistant Account Executive: Mallory McDonald Social Strategist: Becca Toth Executive Producer: Jon Ellis Producer: Kelsey Barrentine Integrated Producer: Otto Linwood Audio Company: Canja Audio Culture Producer: Lucas Sfair, Filipe Resende, Pedro Osinski VO: Pete Stacker

[blackkudos]

Lil’ Kim

Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974 or 1975) known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, model, and actress. She was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, living much of her adolescent life on the streets after being expelled from home. In her teens, Jones would freestyle rap, heavily influenced by actress/singer Diana Ross, and fellow female hip-hop artists like MC Lyte and The Lady of Rage. Performing a freestyle rap for The Notorious B.I.G. got her music career start in 1995 with his group Junior M.A.F.I.A., whose debut album Conspiracy generated three hit singles.

Kimberly Jones' debut studio album, Hard Core (1996) was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and spawned three consecutive No. 1 rap hits: "No Time", "Not Tonight (Ladies Night remix)", and "Crush on You", a record for a female rapper. Her following albums, The Notorious K.I.M. (2000) and La Bella Mafia (2003), were certified Platinum, making her the only female rapper besides Missy Elliott to have at least 3 platinum albums. She was featured on the single, "Lady Marmalade", which also had guest vocals by fellow recording artists Mýa, Pink and Christina Aguilera (a remake of the 1975 smash hit, originally recorded by LaBelle) which went to No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, making her the first female rapper to have a No. 1 on that chart. In addition, the remake won two MTV Video Music Awards including Video of the Year, and a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 44th Grammy Awards in 2002. In 2005, she served a yearlong prison sentence for lying to a jury about her friends' involvement in a shooting four years earlier. During her incarceration, her fourth album The Naked Truth was released. She returned to the public eye in 2009 with an appearance on Dancing with the Stars.

Throughout her career, Jones has earned several accolades for her work. Her songs "No Time", "Big Momma Thang" and "Ladies Night" were listed on Complex Magazine's "The 50 Best Rap Songs By Women", at number 24, 13 and 7, respectively. Crush On You, It's All About the Benjamins and Money, Power, Respect appear on VH1's "The 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs". In 2012, she was honorably listed on VH1's "100 Greatest Women In Music" list at number 45, the second highest position for a solo female hip-hop artist.

Life and career

Early life and career beginnings

Jones was born in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood of the New York City borough Brooklyn, to parents Linwood Jones and Ruby Jones (now Ruby Jones-Mitchell). At the age of 9, her parents separated, and her father raised her until he expelled her from home when she was a teenager. She lived with her friends and on the street. While struggling through her personal life, Jones met The Notorious B.I.G. (real name Christopher Wallace), who was a key figure in both her personal and artistic life, particularly when Wallace had gained popularity and influence through his relationship with Bad Boy Records (which belonged to P-Diddy). Jones attended Sarah J. Hale Vocational High School for two and a half years. Many of her friends also went there and she would often skip school to hang out with them. Since her school work wasn't being completed, the decision was made for her to transfer to Brooklyn College Academy to finish her remaining year and half of school. It was the same school that fellow rappers Nas and Foxy Brown also attended. In 1994, B.I.G. was instrumental in introducing and promoting the Brooklyn-based group, Junior M.A.F.I.A., which included Jones, who was only 19 at the time. The group's first and only album, Conspiracy, was released on August 29, 1995 and debuted at number eight on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 69,000 copies in its first week of release. Three hit singles came from Conspiracy: "Player's Anthem" (peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and No. 2 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart), "I Need You Tonight" (No. 43 R&B, No. 12 Rap), and "Get Money" (No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 4 R&B, No. 2 Rap). The RIAA certifiedConspiracy gold on December 6, 1995. "Player's Anthem" and "Get Money" were certified gold and platinum respectively.

1996–2002: Hard Core and The Notorious K.I.M.

After a year with Junior M.A.F.I.A., Jones began a solo career by making guest performances on R&B albums and recording her debut album, Hard Core, which was released in November 1996. The album debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard 200, the highest debut for a female rap album at that time, and No. 3 on Billboard‍ ' s Top R&B Albums, selling 78,000 copies in its first week of release. Hard Corewas certified double platinum by the RIAA on March 14, 2001 after having been certified gold on January 6, 1997 and platinum on June 3, 1997. The album's lead single "No Time", a duet with Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs (who would later change his stage name to "P. Diddy" and then "Diddy"), reached the top spot of the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks chart and was certified gold by the RIAA. The following single, "Crush on You", reached No. 6 on the Hot 100 and No. 2 on the rap chart. A remix of the album's track "Not Tonight" saw Jones team up with Missy Elliott, Angie Martinez, Da Brat and Left Eye of TLC. The song was part of the soundtrack to the Martin Lawrence movie Nothing To Lose, nominated for a Grammy Award, and certified platinum. In one stockholders' meeting of Warner Bros. Records, activist C. Delores Tucker criticized the label "for producing this filth," referring to perceived graphic sexual content in Jones' lyrics, and labeling them "gangsta porno rap". In 1997, Jones promoted Hard Core by performing on P. Diddy's "No Way Out" tour. The tour continued though to 1998 and became one of the highest grossing hip-hop tours of all time, grossing an estimated $16 million. That same year, she launched her own label Queen Bee Entertainment. From 1998 to 2000, Jones continued her road to stardom under the management of B.I.G.'s best friend, Damion "D-Roc" Butler's "Roc Management", touring and modeling for various fashion and pop culture companies including Candies, Versace, Iceberg, and Baby Phat. and even though she had not had an album of her own released, she was seen on dozens of remixes and guest appearances on other artist's records.

On June 27, 2000, Jones released her second album The Notorious K.I.M. The album marked a new image and revamped look for the rapper. Despite the limited success of its singles, the album debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, selling 229,000 copies in its first week. It was certified platinum by the RIAA, four weeks after its release. It was on this LP that the well-known hip-hop feud between Jones and Foxy Brown escalated. In 2001, Jones teamed up with Christina Aguilera, Pink, and Mýa to remake "Lady Marmalade", which was originally written about a bordello in New Orleans and performed by the group Labelle (which included diva Patti LaBelle) 25 years earlier. The song was recorded for the Moulin Rouge! film soundtrack, released in April 2001, and stayed No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks. The song also went to No. 1 in 50 countries around the world. This was a big accomplishment for female rap, as well as for Jones, who scored her first No. 1 Hot 100 hit and became the second female rapper in history to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. "Lady Marmalade" also garnered Jones her first Grammy Award. Jones also performed in two international hit singles. "In the Air Tonite", a remix of the Phil Collins song "In the Air Tonight" and duet with Collins, was released as a single from the Collins tribute album Urban Renewal. The second single, "Kimnotyze", was released as the lead single of record producer DJ Tomekk's compilation album Beat Of Life, Vol 1. It was released in Switzerland, Austria and Germany only. The song was successful, becoming Jones third consecutive top 10 hit in Germany after her number 5 hit "Lady Marmalade".

In 2002, Jones recorded a new entrance theme for then World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Women's Champion Trish Stratus entitled, "Time to Rock 'n Roll", which was used during broadcasts, until Stratus' retirement. The single was released on WWE Anthology, a compilation of entrance theme music to various professional wrestling superstars. Jones released the buzz song "Whats The Word" in mid-2002. Despite not having an official release, it went on to peak at number 9 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart. It would later be released on the Japan edition of her third studio album, La Bella Mafia, as a bonus track.

2003–05: La Bella Mafia and legal problems

On March 4, 2003, Jones released her third studio album, La Bella Mafia. It debuted at number 5 on the Billboard 200, selling 166,000 copies in its first week, giving Jones her second consecutive top 5 album. The album received generally positive reviews from critics, receiving a score of 65 on Metacritic. A buzz single, "Came Back For You", was released ahead of the album, the music video for the song featured reality television personality Victoria Gotti. The first single, "The Jump Off", featuring Mr. Cheeks, peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. Follow up single, "Magic Stick", featuring 50 Cent, peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying there for three weeks. The song never had a commercial release or a music video, but was successful due to high radio airplay, peaking at number 1 on Billboards Airplay chart. A third US only single, "Thug Luv", featuring Twista, was released in the last quarter of 2003 at peaked at number 60 on Billboards Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The album was certified platinum in the US, selling over 1.1 million copies. Jones promoted the album with a string of concerts, which also featured DMX and Nas. Jones was nominated for five Source Awards and won two ("Female Hip-Hop Artist of the Year", and "Female Single of the Year"). The album also got two Grammy Award nominations for Best Female Rap Solo Performance ("Came Back For You") and Best Rap Collaboration ("Magic Stick"). She was also nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with singer Christina Aguilera for the song "Can't Hold Us Down", from Aguilera's album Stripped.

Greg Thomas, an English professor at Syracuse University, began teaching "Hip-Hop Eshu: Queen B@#$H Lyricism 101". Jones herself was a guest speaker at the school. Professor Thomas considered Jones' lyrics "the art with the most profound sexual politics I've ever seen anywhere." David Horowitz criticized the course as "academic degeneracy and decline". Jones also made an appearance on the multi-platform videogame Def Jam: Fight for NY. Jones provided voice-overs for her part in the storyline, where the player may fight an opponent to have Jones as their girlfriend. In 2004, Jones recorded a cover of "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" which was used as the opening theme for Victoria Gotti's reality series Growing Up Gotti. The same year Jones was featured on the remix of "Naughty Girl" by Beyoncé Knowles. In December 2004, Jones began recording a pilot for a VH1 reality show titled 718 Makeover. The 718 in the title is the area code for Brooklyn, where Jones grew up. The show never made it to air.

On March 17, 2005, Jones was convicted of three counts of conspiracy and one count of perjury for lying to a Federal grand jury about her and her friends' involvement in a 2001 shooting outside the Hot 97 studios in Manhattan. During the trial of her co-manager, Damion "D-Roc" Butler, and her bodyguard, Suif "Gutta" Jackson, a former member of the hip-hop group Junior M.A.F.I.A, she testified not to have known they were at the scene. However, video footage from a security camera placed all three at the scene, exiting the building. This directly contravened testimony before the grand jury. Butler and Jackson have since pled guilty to gun charges. Jackson was sentenced, in U.S. District Court, to twelve years in federal prison as part of plea bargain in which he admitted to firing at least twenty rounds during the incident. The length of the sentence was said to have been influenced by his previous gun-related convictions. In July 2005, Jones was sentenced to a one-year and a day in prison, thirty days home detention upon release from custody, and three years of probation. She served the entirety of her sentence at the Federal Detention Center, Philadelphia in Center City, Philadelphia. She was released on July 3, 2006, after serving approximately 12 months. Jones, Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Register #56198-054, was released from BOP supervision on August 2, 2006.

2005–08: The Naked Truth and Ms. G.O.A.T

Jones released her fourth album, The Naked Truth, on September 27, 2005, while serving a federal prison sentence. It earned her a 5 mic rating from The Source, making her the only female rapper to ever receive a 5 mic rating. The album debuted at No. 6 on theBillboard 200 chart, selling 109,000 copies in its first week of release, giving Jones her third Top 10 debut on the chart. The Naked Truth did not sell as well as her previous works, it only managed to reach a Gold certification by RIAA. She said that her prison sentence left her with no time to promote the project. The music video for The Naked Truth's first single, "Lighters Up", was number one on BET's 106 & Park for two weeks. "Lighters Up" was a Top Ten hit on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. The single also reached No. 67 on the German Single Chart, No. 12 on the UK Top 75 and No. 4 on the Finland Single Chart. The second single, "Whoa" was released on February 17, 2006. It reached No. 22 on Airplay.

On March 9, 2006, BET premiered the show Lil' Kim: Countdown to Lockdown, which was filmed before Jones headed to prison. The show became the highest rated premiere in BET history, averaging 1.9 million viewers. In May 2006, Debbie Harry released a song in tribute to Jones called "Dirty and Deep" in protest of her conviction. The song was available for free from her official website. The Dance Remixes, her first compilation album was released on June 6, 2006. The album featured remixes of songs from The Naked Truth and Hard Core. A limited pressing released only in the US, it received no promotion, due to Jones being in prison at the time of release, and failed to chart. On August 31, 2006, Jones presented the award for Best Male Video at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, it marked her first televised appearance since being released from prison. She also made appearances on the show The Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll and Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious in 2007 and 2008 as a judge.

In January 2008, Jones announced that she had parted ways with Atlantic Records, choosing to release future projects independently. She stated she had no hard feelings towards Atlantic but felt more comfortable in her knowledge of the music business to do it alone. Jones released her first mixtape, Ms. G.O.A.T., an acronym for "Greatest of All Time", on June 3, 2008. It was produced by New York City DJs Mister Cee and DJ Whoo Kid. Among critics, the mixtape received generally positive reviews. It has been called a representation of Jones's return to the streets. Tito Salinas of All Hip Hop says "Lil' Kim shows that her time behind bars did not rust all of her swag away" on Ms. G.O.A.T. On the other hand, Ehren Gresehover of New York Mag says that although one of the tracks "The Miseducation of Lil' Kim" is not bad, he wished that it was Lauryn Hill who was making a comeback instead.

2009–11: Dancing with the Stars and Black Friday

On March 10, 2009, the song "Girls" by Korean singer Seven featuring Jones was released through digital stores as his U.S. debut single. Jones appeared in the music video that was released on the same day. "Girls" was produced by Darkchild. On March 24, 2009, she released the song "Download" featuring R&B singers T-Pain and Charlie Wilson. It was written by Jones and T-Pain and produced by Trackmasters. The song samples "Computer Love" by Zapp. Although it missed the Hot 100, it did chart on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, peaking at number 21.

Jones appeared on the eighth season of reality series Dancing with the Stars, which began airing on March 9, 2009. She was paired with professional dancer Derek Hough until the dance couple was eliminated on May 5, 2009 against Ty Murray and his partner Chelsie Hightower, putting her at fifth place from all thirteen contestants that season. Her elimination was met by many boos from the audience, as she was a consistent high-scorer and a fan favorite.

On February 16, 2010, the Ludacris song "Hey Ho", which featured Jones and Lil Fate, was released as a promo single for his seventh studio album Battle of the Sexes. In June 2010, Jones started her 2010 Tour, her first headlining tour since 2000. It took her across the US, as well as Canada and Europe.

Jones released her second mixtape, Black Friday, on February 14, 2011. The video for the title track was released on February 16, 2011. The mixtape received mostly negative reviews from critics. It was made available for purchase via PayPal with the first 100,000 copies sold being signed by the rapper. In May 2011, Jones performed in South Africa as part of the music festival ZarFest alongside Fat Joe, Timbaland and Ciara. On June 19, 2011, Jones performed alongside G-Unit member Shawty Lo and hinted a possible working relationship with G-Unit Records. That same month the song Jones, along with Rick Ross, was featured on titled "Anything (To Find You)", by R&B singer Monica was leaked. The song, which samples The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Who Shot Ya?", initially featured just Jones, but her second verse was removed to make room for Ross. Her vocals were then removed fully due to contractual issues with B.I.G's estate. In August 2011, Jones performed four dates in Australia as part of the WinterBeatz Festival alongside Fabolous, Mario, 50 Cent and G-Unit. During the August, 17 date in Perth, she joined 50 Cent on stage for a performance of "Magic Stick". It marked the first time the pair had performed the song together. On November 28, 2011, Jones released a buzz single called "I Am Not the One". She also announced that she would release an EP, but it was later shelved for unknown reasons.

2012–present: Fifth studio album and "Hard Core Mixtape"

In the summer of 2011, Jones began recording material for her fifth studio album, as a restriction banning her from releasing new material as a result of her settlement with Trackmasters was lifted.

On Valentine's Day, 2012, Jones released the song "If You Love Me" produced by "Prince Saheb" of Knockout Entertainment as a gift to her fans. That same month it was announced she would make her return to the stage on BET's Rip the Runway. It marked her first televised performance in years. In March 2012, during an interview with MTV's Sucker Free, Jones revealed that contract issues with production duo Trackmasters were the reason behind her album delay, saying "...contractually, by the courts, I could not record any music – I wasn't supposed to put any music out." On March 23, 2012, the song "Keys To The City", a collaboration with Young Jeezy, was leaked to the Internet. Jones first mentioned the song during an interview with MTV's RapFix, saying "I have a song with another celebrity person that I know the world and my fans are gonna love... It's vintage Kim mixed with the new Kim." During the same RapFix interview, Jones also revealed another song, titled "I'm Ready", which she hopes to do with rapper 50 Cent. Jones also commented on the direction of her music, saying she was in "Kanye West mode", adding "...You do whatever you want to do ...it's all about taking chances".

Jones kicked off her Return of the Queen Tour on May 17, 2012 to positive reviews. In a radio interview at 99 Jamz, Jones stated that her upcoming book, The Price of Loyalty, is on hold to coincide with the release of her new album. It was also revealed in 2012 that Jones had signed upcoming female rapper Tiffany Foxx to her label, IRS Records.

On March 6, 2013, Jones returned to Rap Fix Live and revealed that Bangladesh would be executive producing her album with her, and that she had signed a business deal with former Chairman and CEO of EMI Records, Charles Koppelman. however Bangladesh later stated in an interview that "[didn't] think it was going to work out.". During an interview with XXL on April 26, 2013, Jones revealed that she does not have a name for the album yet, but the first official single would be out by mid year. Jones described the single, produced by Bangladesh, as "different" and "sweet dessert". On July 11, 2013, Jones released the Rockwilder produced single "Looks Like Money" as a free download to her fans on her birthday. On July 26, 2013 Jones announced and released the cover art for a new mixtape entitled Hard Core 2K13, which will also serve as a sequel to her critically acclaimed debut album, Hard Core. The mixtape was originally set to be released on October 31, 2013, but for unknown reasons, was pushed back. To make up for not releasing the mixtape, Jones released the singles "Dead Gal Walking" and "Kimmy Blanco" to the public, along with the tracklist. The tracklist revealed collaborations with French Montana, Miley Cyrus, Jadakiss and Yo Gotti.

On January 17, 2014, Canadian make-up artist and photographer Samantha Ravndahl filed a lawsuit against Jones, claiming that Jones had stolen an image from her Reddit page to use for her "Dead Gal Walking" single artwork. Ravndahl first tried amicably resolving the issue soon after the single was released in November by asking Jones to remove the image from her social media sites, but after continued social media posts containing the artwork, she followed through with a lawsuit. The stolen image depicts Ravndahl herself modeling a "zombie-style" make-up design of her own creation. In the lawsuit complaint, Ravndahl's attorney's claim that: "Ravndahl believes that Lil' Kim, acting through her agent, Whosay, Inc., slapped Lil' Kim's name and copyright notice over Ravndahl's face and makeup design on Ravndahl's photograph before distributing it all over the web." The case has been filed through a Federal District Court in California and Ravndahl is seeking $150,000 in damages from Jones, plus attorney fees. A jury is being requested in the trial. Jones has not made any public statements concerning the issue other than crediting her graphic designer on her Twitter page, as well as stating in an interview to XXL magazine, "I don't know what the heck is going on, if there were something going on, my team would know better than I would. You have to get that from my team because I really don't know what's going on." On February 18, 2014, Jones released another single from Hard Core Mixtape 2k14. The single, entitled "Haterz," features lyrics by Jones and rapper B-Ford and was released on her Twit Music page where fans could download it. In April, the single was released on iTunes.

On August 2, 2014, Jones announced via her Twitter page a concert tour for her much anticipated Hardcore Mixtape. Details have yet to surface about concert dates or locations. Throughout the remainder of the month of August, Jones released a number of songs via her Twit Music account: A remix to Beyoncé's and Nicki Minaj's collaboration of "Flawless" (August 4), "Identity Theft" (August 6), A freestyle entitled "Hot Nigga" (August 7),a freestyle to "No Flex Zone" by Rae Sremmurd (August 26), and a remix to Iggy Azalea's "Fancy".

On September 11, 2014, the Hard Core mixtape was released as free download on Kim's official website. In an interview with Revolt TV on the same day, Jones revealed that she, Iggy Azalea, and Rapper T.I. will be collaborating on a song some time in the future, citing "I don't know if it's going to be for my album or if we're just going to…we have other plans for it as well. But, I think we're going to do a double release." In the same interview, she explained the reasons why the mixtape was pushed back twice, stating "When this project was supposed to come out I had got pregnant. I didn't know. [...] Once I became fully pregnant, I was working in the studio but at one point I couldn't work anymore, obviously,".

Products and endorsements

In 1998, Jones signed to Wilhelmina Models. That same year she was announced as the face for the fashion brand Candie's alongside Brandy. She became the first and only rapper to endorse the brand to date. In 2000, Jones signed a deal with fashion house Iceberg, and also with cosmetics brand MAC to help endorse their VIVA GLAM line of lipsticks and lip glosses alongside Mary J. Blige. The MAC VIVA GLAM III campaign, which was built around a plum-brown lipstick, helped raise $4 million for the company in one year and became the most successful VIVA GLAM campaign to date. Due to the success, the two signed on for a second year. The rapper also modeled for the urban fashion line Baby Phat in August 2000. In March 2001, Jones, along with several other artists, featured in a commercial for Apple's Mac computers. It highlighted how users can burn custom CD's on their Mac. In 2003, Jones became the spokesperson for American clothing brand Old Navy. That same year her song "The Jump Off" was used in a commercial for AOL's dial up Internet service.

In 2004, it was announced that Jones would launch a designer watch collection, titled Royalty by Lil' Kim. Jeweler Jacob Arabo manufactured the watches. She also debuted her first clothing line, entitled Hollyhood. Jones also lent her voice to the video game Def Jam: Fight for NY which she was featured in. In 2005, Jones collaborated on a shoe line with high end shoe store, Petite Peton. That same year Jones was featured as a character in the limited edition comic book "The Heist". The book was a collaboration between Marvel and Atlantic Records. In August 2010, Jones signed a deal with Three Olives Vodka to become the face for their Purple vodka. In September of that same year, Jones, along with her cousin, Katrise Jones, opened their first beauty salon in Charlotte, North Carolina called Salon Se Swa. That same month, Jones also launched her second clothing line, entitled 24/7 Goddess Collection, at Charlotte NC Fashion Week. In November 2012, Jones began endorsing Cîroc vodka, revealing her own cocktail, titled "Queen Bee", and announcing herself as the "First Lady" of the brand.

Philanthropy

In 2000, Jones embarked on a promo tour in support of her second studio album, The Notorious K.I.M., and the MAC AIDS Fund. She visited MAC cosmetics counters, interacted with fans and help raise money and awareness for the cause, which helps people who are living with HIV/AIDS worldwide. She also took part in MAC's Fashion Cares show in Toronto, Canada. The show raised close to one million for the AIDS Committee of Toronto. Her endorsement for MAC, with Mary J. Blige, would go on to raise $4 million for the fund. In October 2001, Jones was featured on the R&B mix of the song "What's Going On". Jones, along with several other popular recording artists, released the song under the name "Artists Against AIDS Worldwide", with proceeds going to AIDS programs worldwide and also United Ways September 11th Fund. That same month, Jones performed at BREATHE, a benefit concert for breast cancer research and treatment. Proceeds from the concert went to the UCLA Breast Center and the Breast Examination Center of Harlem, an outreach program of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. On March 12, 2002, Jones walked her dogs in the 3rd annual "Paws for Style" fashion show. The event is held by Animal Fair magazine as a benefit for the Humane Society of New York. Items worm by the animals were later actioned off online. In 2004, Jones started her own foundation called Lil' Kim Cares. The foundation raises funds, resources and awareness for national programs that assist with issues of homelessness, HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness, transitional living, child neglect and violence against women. Speaking about the foundation, Jones stated she planned to be involved in a number of causes, most of which had effected her personally in past years. On April 17, 2004, Jones participated in the 28th annual Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race. The event helped raise more than $100,000 for "Racing for Kids", a non-profit program benefiting Southern California children's hospitals in Long Beach and Orange County. On August 24, 2004, Jones encouraged others to vote in the United States presidential election through the Rock the Vote campaign.

On March 10, 2005, Jones, along with several other artists, appeared in an episode of The Apprentice. Each artist was approached by contestants to donate a "personal experience" to be auctioned off for charity through music channel Fuse's "Daily Download" program with proceeds going to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. In September 2005, Jones paired up with fashion designer, and friend, Marc Jacobs for a limited edition T-shirt line featuring images of the rapper. The shirts, titled Marc Jacobs Loves Lil' Kim, were sold exclusively at Marc Jacob stores with 100% of the proceeds going to The Door. That same year Jones donated a diamond watch from her "Royalty" watch line to the World AIDS Day eBay Auction titled "Bid 2 Beat AIDS". Proceeds went to LIFEbeat, an organization providing HIV/AIDS information to millions of young people annually. Through her foundation, Jones has given back to many, including teaming up with apparel company Mitchell & Ness and boxer Zab Judah to donate toys to underprivileged youth in Philadelphia in 2005, and teaming up with MusiCares in 2007 for a silent auction, held at the Grammys On The Hill ceremony, to help raise funds for the foundation. That same year, Jones was a part of the 4th Annual GRAMMY Charity Holiday Auction, which featured a large variety of celebrity-signed memorabilia that people could bid on through the online auction site eBay. On December 1, 2007, Jones teamed up with Preserve Our Legacy and the New Jersey Stem Cell Research and Education Foundation to put on a celebrity basketball game to raise awareness about various health issues plaguing minority communities.

On July 11, 2010, Jones launched her signature milkshake, titled "Queen Bee", at Millions of Milkshakes in West Hollywood, with proceeds going towards Wyclef Jean's Yéle Haiti foundation. On February 9, 2013, Jones took part in the first annual Reality On The Runway fashion show. The event wanted to help raise $300,000 for people infected with HIV/AIDS and increase awareness. All designs from the show were auctioned off online following the event with a portion of the proceeds going to AIDS United.

Personal life

In her teens, Jones began dating Shawn Powell. The pair met at the Empire Roller Skating rink in Brooklyn. After a couple of months of seeing each other, Powell was arrested for robbery and was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison. Jones and Powell continued their relationship with Jones visiting frequently and also kept in touch by writing letters to each other. The couple also became engaged while he was incarcerated. During this time was when Jones met Christopher Wallace, and with wanting to focus on starting her rap career the engagement was eventually called off and the couple split. Shortly after meeting Wallace, Jones had an on and off relationship with him up until his death in 1997. On July 23, 1996, Jones was arrested for possession of marijuana after police raided the Teaneck, New Jersey home of Wallace. The arrest came after police smelt marijuana inside the home when they went to ask for someone to move an illegally parked car. Jones denied she was smoking, claiming she was "upstairs all day sleeping". That same year, during the recording of her debut album, "Hard Core", Jones fell pregnant with Wallace's child. Jones never made it public until 1999 during an interview with The Source. Jones decided not to keep the baby, telling The Source "I already knew the kind of relationship that Biggie and I had, and I knew that [having a child] was something that couldn't take place..." Wallace called Jones three days before his death and told her he loved her. On March 17, 1999, Teaneck police issued an arrest warrant after Jones failed to turn up to court dates stemming from her 1996 arrest. The warrant wasn't a top priority for police and wasn't made public until September 2003, after the story was published online by The Smoking Gun. Jones was later removed from Teaneck's wanted list in October 2003, after $350 in bail was posted on her behalf. Jones' attorney told reporters that she didn't appear in court as she believed the case had been resolved.

In 2002, Jones started dating Damion "World" Hardy, the couple split in 2003. It was during this time that Jones had been a victim of physical abuse. Telling The Source in 2004 that she had suffered from black eyes, bloody lips, blood clots and even had to have an MRI. Jones also stated how she had to have multiple nose jobs due to being punched. On June 20, 2003, Jones had $250,000 worth of jewelry stolen from her while catching a flight at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport after a bag, which she intended to carry on, was mixed up with eight other pieces of her luggage. The missing jewelry was recovered 10 days later, found wrapped up in a rag in a locker room for airline employees by a United Airlines worker. On July 1, 2003, John Acheson was charged after trying to extort $25,000 from Jones in exchange for her stolen jewelry. Acheson, who was never in possession of Jones' jewelry, called Jones' lawyer, Mel Sachs, on June 23 saying he had the jewelry and would exchange it for an initial $5,000 and $20,000 at a later date. Acheson was charged with third degree attempted grand larceny, fourth degree attempted grand larceny by extortion, and attempted coercion in the second degree. In March 2004, Acheson was sentenced to five days in jail and a $500 fine after pleading guilty to a minor charge of attempted grand larceny. In 2004, Jones dated record producer Scott Storch. The two met when Storch offered Jones a ride to her hotel. The couple spilt after only 2 months together. In 2013, Storch revealed that he would've married Jones if the relationship had worked out. In 2007, Jones and Ray J briefly dated. In 2012, Jones started dating Bronx rapper Peoples Hernandez, known by his stage name Papers. The couple split briefly in December of that year before reconciling that same month. On February 12, 2014, Jones announced she was pregnant, saying she was "a few months along" with her first child. Hernandez said shortly afterward he was the father. On June 9, 2014, Jones gave birth to a baby girl, named Royal Reign.

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