Amanda Usen has spent most of her life immersed in story—and butter, sugar, flour, and eggs. After graduating from college, she fortified her English BA with a degree from the Culinary Institute of America, figuring a professional chef would never be a starving writer. Amanda loves chocolate, yoga, and carbs in all forms. When she isn’t writing or cooking, she can usually be found reading or hanging out with her small menagerie of cats, ducks, and mostly-grown children. Sign up for Amanda’s Newsletter or connect with her on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or her blog, Writer.Chef.Romantic., where she posts about writer-life, baker-life, mom-life, sex-life, mid-life, basically all things life…and a bag of chips.