Julie-Ann Corrigan is a best-selling novelist whose literary style also has the commercial edge so necessary for success in today’s competitive markets. She writes contemporary thrillers as JA Corrigan and modern historical fiction under the pseudonym, Jules Hayes.
Julie-Ann first dipped her toe into the literary water with short stories and magazine articles. She then began to write her first novel, learning her craft by writing, writing, and more writing. She has been shortlisted for the prestigious Bridport Short Story Prize and the Mslexia Novel Competition.
Every aspiring novelist finds their own unique way to improve their narrative skills that will eventually and hopefully, lead to literary representation and publication. For Julie-Ann, seeking independent and professional editorial feedback has proved to be a crucial element of this process.
Her degree is in Modern History and English Literature. She is a qualified physiotherapist and a personal trainer. Her area of interest in fiction includes commercial contemporary suspense/psychological thriller/mystery, together with more literary-leaning work, and modern 20th century historical fiction. She is also fascinated by the speculative fiction genre. In non-fiction her area of expertise centres around health, fitness and mental well-being, as well as modern history.
Julie-Ann is keen to help her clients hone their plotting skills, develop characters, and intensify themes. Currently, Julie-Ann is working simultaneously on her second contracted suspense thriller and a speculative fiction story.
Testimonials
Julie-Ann is a sharp-eyed editor with a thorough insight into how to create a compelling story.” Emma Haughton
Julie Ann has given me great support in my writing career. Her eye for detail is impressive as she helped me to refine my plot, editing out superfluous text. Julie Ann has a particular talent for crafting characters, which gave me invaluable insight. I found her friendly but very professional. Her motivation and advice inspired me to complete my novel.” Jan Beresford
Julie-Ann is a brilliant consultant. Once I received my marked-up manuscript, I knew I had the insights needed to take my writing to another level. There were both macro- and micro-level adjustments, which provided explicit and motivating instruction. I truly felt like I’d been given a shortcut to side-step several years of trial and error. If you’re looking for personal and nuanced feedback on your work, this is the only service you’ll need.” Harry Barnes
I have recently completed the first draft of my first novel and Julie-Ann has been my writing coach throughout. Had it not been for Julie-Ann, I do not think that I would have been able to see the project through. She helped me to get the structure of the book just right and has given me thorough and extremely helpful guidance and tutoring throughout.
I have been so impressed with Julie-Ann’s thoughtfulness, her high level of experience and knowledge of the field. She has been rigorous in her feedback, not shying away from the problems that needed to be ironed out and she has also been highly positive, has valued the story and has been enormously encouraging, helping me to drive the novel forward and to the point of completion. We have now completed the project together and I am very proud of the fact that this dream has been realised and sad that our time together has come to an end. She is a wonderful coach and most importantly, a very warm and generous individual.” Peter Walker
Julie-Ann is an incredibly insightful and supportive mentor. Before working together, I felt like I was going around in circles with my manuscript. But, with her encouragement and guidance, I’ve made more progress in six months than I believed myself capable of.
I’m continually impressed by how deeply Julie-Ann engages with my work. She has a wonderful ability to challenge my thinking in a positive, constructive way that strengthens my story and brings out the best in my work.
Julie-Ann’s feedback is consistently thoughtful, detailed, and practical. We’ve worked together on big picture developmental issues, such as character motivations, POV, plot, tone, genre and more, and my novel has undergone some major shifts sparked by ideas covered in our sessions. I also appreciate that Julie-Ann provides extensive line edits for each submission, as well as explanations on aspects of style, grammar and formatting, when needed.
In the past six months, I’ve seen real, tangible progress, not just on my manuscript, but in how I approach writing as a whole. I cannot recommend Julie-Ann highly enough – she is an exceptional mentor, and I am confident that anyone who works with her will come away a stronger, more capable writer. Lily M
For the past eleven months Julie-Ann has been mentoring me as I worked slowly through my novel. It has been a wonderful experience and I have learnt so much about how to structure a novel, point of view characters and their arc throughout the story.
We worked together in 7,000 word chunks which really suited me. I never felt overwhelmed. Each section when returned to me was full of ideas, as Julie-Ann worked slowly through the novel, correcting and adding her thoughts. Her ideas and alterations always improved the piece.
As a complete novice I found Julie-Ann’s gentle approach encouraging. It’s been a huge learning curve, and I couldn’t have chosen a better mentor. Pauline H
Vanessa Neuling