Timbuktu Blues

THE TEASER Timbuktu is known for being unknown. Its utterly useless reputation never taints the narrative in this story. Ethereal dunes and vast landscapes immerse the viewer in the exotic world of the Sahara Desert. Once significant as a center for elite Islamic scholarship, Timbuktu’s cultural heritage continues to thrive as the birthplace of Desert Blues, music that captivates its listeners. Actual events inspired this grounded story. Eve (the naïve, impetuous protagonist) could not wait for a fresh start in a faraway land after a difficult upbringing and crushing tragedy. She loves her life in the Peace Corps teaching music to young students outside Timbuktu. Eve’s favorite student, Issa, a four-year old boy with a limp, has a serious crush on her. She hopes to change the trajectory of his life and all her students’ lives through music. Timbuktu is rapidly becoming a lawless region in 2012. Atrocities, rebellion, and terrorism are on the rise. Eve refuses to acknowledge the growing danger until she comes face to face with evil. Extremists and rebels attack the school and brutally murder two friends. Eve and one young student avoid capture by hiding in an outhouse. The students are taken away in a lorry. Eve’s good fortune is short-lived. An extremist, left behind to ransack the school, finds the young student and pregnant headmistress while Eve retrieves a friend’s gun hidden in the school shed. Having witnessed heartbreaking brutality, will Eve be able to stop their execution? This captivating, multi-faceted adventure defies expectations at every turn. Nothing is what it seems. Deception and secret agendas are common. The hero’s struggles transcend the boundaries of right and wrong as Eve discovers what she is capable of. THE WORLD The writer knows the region as she was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali. It is 2012. The North of Mali is falling to al-Qaeda much like Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in 2021. Events are spiraling out of control at a rapid pace. The military is unable to stop the advance of al-Qaeda when extremists join forces with ex-Qaddafi, Tuareg mercenaries seeking independence. Mali was a U.S. strategic partner in the Global War on Terrorism. When a coup ousted the democratic government, the United States officially suspended military relations. The story begins and ends in 2012 before a military coup and before the French military intervened to stop the fall of its former colony to al-Qaeda. Timbuktu Blues captures and contrasts the extraordinary beauty and extreme wretchedness of the region. People, music, culture, and landscapes are intoxicating. Nomadic Tuaregs of the Sahara, known as blue people for their colorful robes, bustling markets, camel caravans crossing desert vistas, and unforgettable music known to the world as Desert Blues make unforgettable impressions. Eve is in her element; the region triggered an awakening of the hero’s identity as her upbringing in foster care left her without a sense of belonging. A military or diplomatic solution to the abduction is unattainable in spite of Eve’s relentless pursuit. Eve alienates her Malian hosts, and her Peace Corps service is terminated. Eve goes rogue. She recruits her former boyfriend, a diplomat. Together they head to a music festival, Timbuktu’s world-famous Festival au Desert, to solicit help from a celebrity, Zara. Zara is a philanthropist and Grammy-nominated musician who is rumored to have hired mercenaries for humanitarian interventions in the region. No longer the idealistic Peace Corps Volunteer seeking redemption for a tragic past, Eve becomes more determined and selfless than her peers. This is an action-packed, social thriller, inspired by the near fall of Mali to extremists, the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls, and the mesmerizing music festival where both Bono and Roger Plant performed. Music with its power to unite and divide is an integral part of the script. The children’s lives are gravely imperiled in this high-stakes Wizard of Oz journey. Heartbreaking brutality by the jihadis accurately portrays the horror of crimes against children in conflict zones.