My Secret by Kelley Armstrong

Kelley’s novel, The Unquiet Past, is part of the forthcoming Secrets series.

“I’m afraid of chickens.”

Okay, I’m not specifically afraid of chickens. I have a fear of all birds—and bats. I blame the fact that I watched The Birds when I was far too young. They used to show old horror movies late at night on TV. It was my first sleepover, and we decided to watch one, which turned out to be The Birds. I’ve had problems with flying mammals ever since. It’s not a phobia—I just prefer them at a distance!

As for the chickens, we live in the country and have some chickens for eggs. This is our second group of layers. We’ve had them for a couple of years, and I’ve never gone into the coop or the chicken yard. Same with the first group. I’m fine with them being there; I just don’t want to go and hang out with them! So when I’m asked what I’m afraid of, my go-to answer is “chickens.”

Oh, and don’t ask me about rats, either. I read James Herbert’s Rats when I was about twelve. Yeah, that left a lasting impression, too. We have a lot of pets at our house—I love animals—but my kids have always known not to ask for pet birds or pet rats.

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Kelley Armstrong is the author of the Cainsville Modern Gothic series and the Age of Legends YA fantasy trilogy. Her past works include the Otherworld urban fantasy series, the Darkest Powers and Darkness Rising teen paranormal trilogies and the Nadia Stafford crime trilogy. She also co-writes the Blackwell Pages middle-grade fantasy trilogy as K.L. Armstrong with M.A. Marr. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her family. For more information, visit www.kelleyarmstrong.com.