STEPHENMCCARTHY
Welcome
"If Dreams are like movies, then memories are films about ghosts"
- Counting Crows
I admire the brevity of songwriters. They need to get ideas across clearly and quickly while maintaining a beat. They hang their words on a melody and let them flow into the minds of their listeners.
I aim for this in my writing. I want it to be effortless to read, engaging and direct. I want the reader to feel they are in the room with the characters. I want to carry you along with them on a narrative flow like a surfer being lifted by a wave.
I also like my stories to have some humour because my life is full of funny people and that's pretty good.
Books
Two different men navigate a time of change in Irish Politics. A tale of inspiration, aspiration, obligation and hope told with a sense of humour.
Northern Ireland 1998. A ceasefire. A new dawn. The men of violence are off buying new suits to become respectable when the untimely death of an MP opens a door to power.
Two very different men seize the chance to do something with their lives that is bigger than them.
Kevin Higgins is at the height of his powers, a successful career and solid marriage gives him the confidence to tackle anything. His wife is wary of the consequences but supports him.
Simon Lightwood is the latest of a political dynasty. A shy young man dealing with the recent death of his MP father and the turmoil of separation from his first love. He feels the weight of expectation and obligation and sees his life planned out for him.
A terrorist bomb threatens to derail the peace process and thrusts the two into the spotlight . On polling day they must choose between their new obligations and the women they love.
Searching For Ahimsa is published as an ebook with free samples available.
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While Ireland drunkenly follows the exploits of its nearest neighbours at the 1986 World Cup, the death of a young girl casts a shadow over the lives of her friends and family in a seaside town.
A student comes to work in the local chip shop for the Summer but he hides a dark secret.
Friendships are born and lost under the strain of past lives and future dreams as the clash of footballing minnows and sporting legends unravels across the globe.
The local ruined castle is the brooding focus of their lives until God takes a hand.....
Battered is published as an ebook with free samples available.
other stories in my head, yet to be born
INTO THE RISING SUN
A U-Boat slips quietly out of Bremen in early May 1945. Aboard are a mixed crew of Germans and Japanese and a deadly cargo.
All are committed to their countries but that is about to change with potentially devastating consequences
The Boy's Brigade -
Two paralell stories set 100 years apart, dealing with youth, adventure and camaraderie.
Set against the backdrop of the outbreak of the First World War.
Coming soon.... Nobody's Hero
Set in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on New York, ‘Nobody’s Hero’ tells the story of Jackie O’Brien who drives a crane during the clean-up of Ground Zero.
The emotional toll weighs heavy on all and the infectious Patriotism of the impending War on Terror hangs over Jackie and the work crew as they seek revenge and validation in the turmoil of the dust.
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Raised in North Brooklyn by a hippie mother and a crazy great grandfather, Pops, who lived in fear of his past in Ireland, Jackie never knew a father, taken by the Vietnam War. Uncle Eamon drops in and out between secret Government missions, not daring to reveal the truth behind Jackie’s birth while continuing a lifelong guilty argument with his sister, Jackie's mother, Kathleen.
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When Jackie’s Lebanese girlfriend decides to research Pops’ ancestry, she finds a tangled web of lies and half-truths that puts Jackie’s beliefs and very identity in question.
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As the War arrives, Jackie has a choice to make between a complicated love and an uncertain War.
