Welcome to another installment of our  Golden Ink Award  winner blog posts! It is my honor to shed some light on our winner for Best Supporting Character AND Best Long Form Story!

Congratulations to @Pixileanin for creating an absolutely gripping story with an exceptional side character in How to Retire in Regency England: A Handbook. We’re so pleased to give this story as well as the supporting character, Daniel Knapp, the recognition they both deserve!

[picspam by ineffable_season]

How to Retire in Regency England.. does have some ties to The Umbrella Academy fandom, what with our protagonist, Five, being a character from that universe. Due to some circumstances that occur in Five’s original universe, he finds himself permanently in the Regency Era. From there, this story reads as original fiction with a host of original characters, romances, period typical issues and intrigue.

Five aims to be a respectable businessman, who can live comfortably, and as our title suggests, eventually retire in the Regency Era. He has no plans to fall in love with Saira Russell, who sort of leads a double life as “The Shroud,” telling fortunes to society’s elite so that she might gain financial freedom for her and her aunts. Saira’s life story is just as rich as Five’s. And in telling this story with alternating points of view, there is plenty that Pix sprinkles throughout to hold each reader’s interest.

In addition to Five and Saira’s tale, Pix has also created a stellar supporting character in Daniel Knapp.       

Daniel is the sort of character who you almost immediately identify as “one of the good ones,” in this Regency tale feat. magic & time travel. He’s not the sort to ask unnecessary questions that might land a person in trouble. Instead, he’s more likely to lend an ear and a helping hand, which he does, on multiple occasions to our protagonist, Five.

Daniel also possesses a quick wit that offers humor to some of the heavier situations.  And…well…spoiler alert, so don’t click below the cut unless you’ve completed this story…

I could carry on and on about Daniel Knapp, but why don’t we just leave it at that and allow the story to reveal the entirety of Daniel’s character?

Now about our talented writer, Pixileanin and her involvement in creating Daniel Knapp. I always find that Pix takes great care with her characters, not only in developing them, but also in analyzing their functionality in the greater scheme of the story. So it really is no surprise that Daniel fits so perfectly into this story and really brings it a great deal of depth and charm with his presence. All the while fitting in with the plotlines and making for an exceptionally smooth read! 

 Well done, Pix, we have another story to cherish and another character to love because of you!