The Shan kids are stealing the limelight again, as they so often do on a Sunday when I come to post some family photos. What on Earth did I post before they came along?!?

In the first, an industrious Dante is busy Thai dyeing some sheets for his bed, having already fashioned a T-shirt for himself. Hey -- now that I'm self-publishing, I can't afford to buy them clothes, so they have to make their own!!! :-)

The second is a close-up of Gaia carefully studying a caterpillar. This is one of Mrs Shan's favourite photos of her. Of course, once she put down the camera, Gaia ate the caterpillar. Hey -- now that I'm self-publishing, I can't afford to buy them food, so they have to eat whatever they can forage!!! :-) :-) :-)

The last two were both taken in Ballybunion, our local beach, in the middle of June, when we were enjoying some proper summer weather in Ireland -- it's been raining pretty much ever since! The sea's too cold fo them to swim in (although I used to swim in it all the time as a kid, without complaint -- I guess we were made of tougher stuff back in the 1970s and 80s -- or else we just didn't have as much common sense as today's young uns!) but they like the rock pools. Dante cavorts with his granny Urszula in the third pic (taken before she went to the Merge and became the infamous Empress of Suanpan!), while Gaia poses in the fourth, before ducking her head under the water to suck up some tiny crabs or shellfish or squid or whatever else she can find to eat, because hey -- need I say any more?!? :-) :-) :-)

Oh, and if you didn't get the Empress Of Suanpan reference, you need to check out my Archibald Lox books! You can find out lots about them here: https://darrenshan.com/news/shanville-monthly