BLOG TOUR: What Is This Love Thing All About?

Corey J. Barnes is a long time native of Lakeland, Florida. Currently he resides there with his son Corey Jr. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education, a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership, and is currently working on his PhD in Instructional Leadership and Adult Education.

Becoming an author and also establishing the publishing company CJ Publishing has fulfilled a lifelong dream for Corey as he attempts to bring true romance and integrity back to urban fiction, from a male perspective, hence his moniker, “The Renaissance Man of Romance”.

In his debut novel What Is This Love Thing All About? Corey displays that chivalry is not dead and the thrill of the chase is still present in today’s world. Presently, Corey is working on his second novel. In addition to his work as a middle school administrator, Corey also coaches high school boys basketball and his son’s little league football team. When he is not writing, he enjoys spending time with his son and working out.


What Is This Love Thing All About?

Be careful what you wish for... Is what you think you want... Really what you need?

Meet Rick Jenkins, who has everything that most would love to have in life. Great job, great looks, well educated, money, he has it all, except for one thing – a woman to share it with. A single and eligible bachelor, Rick can’t seem to even find a good woman to go on a date with, much less to think about take it to the next level. Rick is content to take life as it is until one night at a sorority fund raising function, he runs into Aphrodite Morrison and his fate changes forever.

Aphrodite is a mysterious, yet angelic woman who Rick is lost for from the first minute he talks to her. A partner in one of the top advertising companies in the Greater Atlanta area, she does not have a want for anything. There is another side to Aphrodite that looms under the surface. When she thinks she has met the perfect man, her past threatens everything that she thinks may be meant for her and happening with Rick. Fate collides with destiny and creates doubt; does anyone really know: What is this Love Thing All About?


Where were you born?

I was born in Lakeland, Florida.

Education background?

I attended and graduated from Kathleen High School in Lakeland, Fl. I obtained my Bachelor’s degree in Education, specializing in Specific Learning Disabilities and Elementary Education from University of South Florida. I then obtained my Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Saint Leo University. I am currently working on my PhD in Adult Education and Instructional Leadership from Nova Southeastern University.

What's your inspiration or who is?

My inspiration in all that I do is my son, CJ. He is the very best part of me and is the reason I wake up in the morning. He is my heartbeat and my motivation.

As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

When I was a child I had dreams of either being a pro football player or a lawyer. As you can see, neither one of them took place.

Did you ever think you'd ever become an author?

I never thought I would become an author. I love to read, but I didn’t think I would ever do it myself, even though it was one of my goals. It was one of those things where you think about something but know it will never be, but it has and it is very exciting.

How long does it take you to write a book?

It took me a total of 8 months to write my first book. I actually wrote the first character in 5 months, and went back and added in the 2nd, which took 3 more months.

When did you write your first book and how old were you?

I wrote my first book, What Is This Love Thing All About at the age of 32.

Whose writing do you admire most?

The author whose style I admire the most is Eric Jerome Dickey. I also enjoy Dwayne Joseph’s style.

Were you a good student in school?

I was actually a very good student in school.

Tell me about your revision process.

I usually read from the back to the front for corrections needed. Doing it this way makes the story pretty much gibberish and in that sense, I can just concentrate on making sure that sentence structure and things of that nature are correct.

Did you like school? What was your favorite subject?

I enjoyed school. I am a life long learner and look to continually improve myself. My favorite subject in school was English, which helped me with being an author and the next subject was Math. I hated Science in school, but did it because I had too.