Orcas veterinarian Jill Bates’ first novel will make its debut at Darvill’s Bookstore on Thursday, Sept. 15.

“My cheeks are so big I can’t fit through the door, I’m smiling so much,” said Bates. “[Writing the book] wasn’t hard work; you had to drag me away from it.”

A fictional work of magical realism entitled “Flying Fish, Giants and Black Coffee,” the story weaves a narrative about small town life featuring “deliciously wicked characters” and “a strange twist.”

While this book doesn’t exactly follow in the muck-boot tracks of famous country vet James Herriott, Bates says it’s still crawling with critters.

“Animals of all kinds are creeping around inside the pages of this novel,” she said. “My readers said that they did not want to put this novel down, but even when they did they were still immersed in the story, thinking about and living with the characters. I have been told that my novel takes you to another world, a different place.”

Bates has always loved stories, and counts among her favorite authors A.A. Milne, J.R.R. Tolkein, C.S. Lewis, Ian Fleming, J.M. Barie and Lewis Carroll, adding, “And of course, we can never forget the stories of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson. I grew up with them. I would read to my brother and I would put in my own [scary] parts, and he would sit with his covers under his chin, saying, “You’re making that up! That’s not really in there!”

Beyond frightening her older brother, Bates has taken advantage of her literary bent to write several short stories and stow away quite a stash of memories of her veterinary career.

But all that’s on the backburner now, as Bates takes up her pen to let loose on the sequel to “Flying Fish, Giants and Black Coffee.”

When I sit down I have no idea what I am going to write, and it just comes out,” she said. She is regularly surprised by the actions of her characters, adding, “I don’t even come up with names; they just name themselves.The characters have their own life.”

Bates’ friends Max Trulio and Lynn McGinnis have a favorite saying about the new book:

“Move over, Harry Potter. Take your teeth out, Twilight.”

Bates will release the book through a self-publishing company called CreateSpace. She credits Kathy Messano and Sabryna Bach for providing her with key support.

The book reading, signing and celebration will begin at 6 p.m. Bates said she will unveil a web page for the book at that time. For more information, call Darvill’s at 376-2135.