Steve McCarthy Creative

20/05/2026

How I wrote The Light Between Us and why I couldn’t not write it

People sometimes ask where stories come from, as if they arrive fully formed: a lightning bolt, a neat idea, a beginning-middle-end that behaves itself. But The Light Between Us didn’t arrive like that. It arrived the way memory does, in fragments. In sensations. In the feeling of something unfinished tapping you on the shoulder years later and saying, “Are you sure you’re done with me?”...

People sometimes ask where stories come from, as if they arrive fully formed: a lightning bolt, a neat idea, a beginning-middle-end that behaves itself. But The Light Between Us didn’t arrive like …

20/05/2026

When the light changes: the moment Sean and Linda are interrupted

In the last two posts, I introduced you to Sean (the boy at the window, trying to learn the language of light) and Linda (the girl who draws the spaces between things). This is the post where the story tilts. Because sometimes, just as you begin to feel something good take root. Life turns up with paperwork and certainty and says, …...

In the last two posts, I introduced you to Sean (the boy at the window, trying to learn the language of light) and Linda (the girl who draws the spaces between things). This is the post where the s…

19/05/2026

Meet Linda — the girl who draws the spaces between things

In my last post, I reintroduced The Light Between Us and the boy at the window: Sean O’Connell, trying to learn the language of light. This time, I want you to meet the other half of the story’s heartbeat: Linda. Linda doesn’t arrive with noise. She arrives with attention. She’s the kind of person who watches the world properly....

In my last post, I reintroduced The Light Between Us and the boy at the window: Sean O’Connell, trying to learn the language of light. This time, I want you to meet the other half of the story’s he…

18/05/2026

Reintroducing The Light Between Us — and the boy who tries to catch the light

Every debut novel feels a bit like stepping into the open with your heart in your hands. The Light Between Us was mine — the first time I let readers into a world built from memory, music, sketchbooks, and that strange, lovely ache of growing up. At its centre is Sean O’Connell: fourteen, new to North London, quietly observant… and already carrying more than most people can see....

Every debut novel feels a bit like stepping into the open with your heart in your hands. The Light Between Us was mine — the first time I let readers into a world built from memory, music, sketchbo…

17/05/2026

I’m Self-Publishing (Mostly) by Trial and Error — And That’s Okay

If there’s one thing self-publishing has taught me so far, it’s this: I don’t really know what I’m doing. At least… not in the “I have a master plan and a perfectly optimised launch strategy” sense. What I do have is a growing stack of lessons, a lot of late nights, a willingness to learn as I go, and three books I’m incredibly proud of....

If there’s one thing self-publishing has taught me so far, it’s this: I don’t really know what I’m doing. At least… not in the “I have a master plan and a perfectly optimised launch strategy” sense…

14/05/2026

Introducing The Galway Girl

There are some stories that arrive quietly. They don’t explode onto the page with noise and drama. Instead, they slip into your heart slowly, like the sound of the sea outside a bedroom window or the memory of a summer you never wanted to end. That’s exactly what inspired my new novel, The Galway Girl. Set in the summer of 1986, the story follows fifteen-year-old Tom Carter, a London teenager dragged to Galway on a family holiday he’s convinced will be painfully boring....

There are some stories that arrive quietly. They don’t explode onto the page with noise and drama. Instead, they slip into your heart slowly, like the sound of the sea outside a bedroom window or t…

14/05/2026

Reintroducing Myself — Photography, Stories, and Everything In Between

It’s been a little while since I last posted, so I thought this was the perfect time to properly reintroduce myself — and reintroduce this website.

I’m Steve McCarthy, a landscape photographer and author of romantic fiction.

For years, photography and storytelling have been two of the biggest creative passions in my life. Whether I’m standing behind a camera waiting for the perfect light across a Cornish coastline, or sitting at a keyboard writing characters and relationships that feel real and emotional, I’ve always been drawn to moments that make people feel something.

This website — along with my social media accounts — is going to become the home for all of that work.

Going forward, I’ll be sharing:

Landscape photography from across the UK and beyond
Behind-the-scenes looks at my photography process
Stories behind the images I capture
Updates on my novels and writing projects
Excerpts from current and upcoming books
Insights into the inspiration behind my stories
The highs, lows, and realities of being an independent creative
If you’ve found me through my photography — welcome.

If you’ve discovered me through my books — welcome.

And if you’re here because you enjoy creativity, storytelling, travel, emotion, atmosphere, or simply seeing the world through someone else’s eyes — then I hope you’ll stick around.

My novels, including The Light Between Us, Tracks in Time, and The Galway Girl, are deeply inspired by memory, relationships, nostalgia, and the places that stay with us long after we leave them. In many ways, my photography explores those same ideas — capturing fleeting moments, changing light, and the feeling a place leaves behind.

I want this space to feel personal, creative, and genuine.

So this is the beginning of a fresh chapter.

More photos. More stories. More behind-the-scenes content. More honesty about the creative process.

Thanks for being here.

— Steve McCarthy

10/05/2026

Lovely day out at Shearwater lake last week.

10/05/2026

Reintroducing Myself — Photography, Stories, and Everything In Between

It’s been a little while since I last posted, so I thought this was the perfect time to properly reintroduce myself — and reintroduce this website. I’m Steve McCarthy, a landscape photographer and author of romantic fiction. For years, photography and storytelling have been two of the biggest creative passions in my life. Whether I’m standing behind a camera waiting for the perfect light across a Cornish coastline, or sitting at a keyboard writing characters and relationships that feel real and emotional, I’ve always been drawn to moments that make people feel something....

07/05/2026

A New Chapter Begins

Steve McCarthy A New Chapter Begins… Steve McCarthy May 05, 2026 I’m delighted to share my latest novel, The Galway Girl 💚 Set in the vibrant, windswept beauty of Galway, it’s a coming-of-age romance about first love, fleeting summers, and the people who leave a lasting mark on our lives. It’s a story close to my heart—and I hope it finds a place in yours too....