Libby is a young Black woman from Luton, an athlete and trainee barrister with dreams of becoming a writer. One day she steps into a labyrinth where nothing is what it seems. Nine will enter. One will leave.
Available in paperback, e‑book and audiobook Autumn 2026.
The story
Libby is a young Black woman from Luton, balancing track training, law school and the quiet ache of wanting to write. One day, reality slips. She finds herself trapped in a maze with eight strangers, none of them sure how they arrived. All they have is an ominous message written into the walls:
“Nine will enter, one will leave.”
As they move through the labyrinth, Libby is forced to confront who she is, where she comes from, and what she is willing to become. The maze holds her memories, her fears, and the hidden labels she has carried all her life.
The Collateral Beauty Series
I Am Collateral Beauty is part of The Collateral Beauty Series (CBS), one story explored in three forms: poetry, play and prose. The series follows Libby as she grows up in a post‑war, post‑industrial, working‑class town and tries to become all she knows she can be – without losing herself.
- I Am Collateral Beauty – a suspense/thriller novel.
- I Can See What the Dark Looks Like – an immersive digital poetry‑theatre play created using multimedia performance.
- Poetry E.motion: Collateral Beauty – poetry and prose with a journey guide, based on Naz’s multidimensional poetry therapy practice model and echoing her earlier collection Butterfly Drinks Crocodile Tears.
Why this book?
Because I want to remind people that there is still love in the world.
Negativity flies at us daily in a world that often feels dark, bleak and broken. I Am Collateral Beauty is a love letter to the light within us – the part that shines no matter how dark it gets. We are beauty because we are compassion, joy, love, empathy, understanding, patience and tolerance. Our beauty belongs to us. It is the damage that is collateral.There is a saying: “Butterflies can’t see their wings. They can’t see how truly beautiful they are, but everyone else can. People are like that as well.” It is not just how we look at ourselves but also how we view the events and circumstances we find ourselves in.
At the heart of suffering, pain and loss, there is a quieter truth. That is what this book calls collateral beauty.
Listen, watch, explore
Audio extract
Listen to a sample from the audiobook:Book cover & sell sheet
Ideal if you are a bookseller, festival programmer or educator.
Trailer
Book details
- Publisher: NINE RED Presents… CIC
- ISBN: 9780995633247
- Format: paperback, e‑book, audiobook
- Number of pages: 333
- Weight: 300 g
- Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 30 mm
The full Collateral Beauty Series
- I Am Collateral Beauty – Buy on Waterstones
- I Can See What the Dark Looks Like – Buy on Waterstones
- Poetry E.motion – Buy on Waterstones