Author Yi Shun Lai will read from her debut novel, “Not a Self-Help Book: The Misadventures of Marty Wu,” at Lopez Bookshop Monday, Aug. 15 at 7 pm. She’ll also be in conversation with Iris Graville, Lopez Bookshop events coordinator.

“I met Yi Shun in my first class at Whidbey Writers Workshop,” explains Iris, “and I’ve been cheering for her novel’s main character, Marty Wu, ever since.”

Marty Wu, a compulsive reader of advice manuals, would love to come across as a poised young advertising professional.Instead, she trips over her own feet and blurts out inappropriate comments, leading to a spectacular career meltdown that sends her ricocheting between the stress of New York and the warmth of supportive relatives in Taiwan. “Not a Self-Help Book” is an insightful and witty portrait of a young woman scrambling to balance familial expectations and her own creative dreams.

Born in Taiwan and raised in the U.S., Yi Shun has written everything from copy for lingerie catalogs to articles about the great outdoors. She lives in Southern California where she writes and helps people in the corporate world become better writers. Yi Shun also volunteers with Shelter Box, a group that sends disaster relief materials to areas hard-hit by human or natural disasters; she’s among the 200 individuals from around the world responsible for delivering the big green box that includes a family tent, a stove, cooking and water purification supplies, and other sundry items to make a home for people who’ve lost theirs.

“In conversation and in her writing, Yi Shun can be hilarious in one paragraph and deeply thought-provoking in the next,” Iris says. “I know that, just like Marty Wu, Yi Shun will surprise and entertain the audience.” Her appearance at Lopez Bookshop is free and open to the public. For more information visit lopezbookshop.com.