Most writers are readers (I hope), and avid ones, at that. But I think we often read from a slightly different perspective than the general public. Sometimes it’s hard for me to turn off The Writer, even when I’m reading for pleasure, and I often find myself lingering on certain phrases or character choices. Sometimes it’s the small things that make the writer in me smile and nod my head when I’m reading. Just wee bits of genius–things that are deceptively simple, or fractions of world-building that dazzle me. I love finding these treasures in other people’s books. The following is a short list of five of those small moments in urban fantasy that moved me to raise a proverbial glass of champagne and say, “Well played!” 1) Charlaine Harris, Southern Vampire series: Sookie’s Word-a-Day Calendar It really bothers me when an author’s voice overrides the character’s voice in first person. Sookie is a small-town waitress, not very smart (but not dumb either), and her voice is fairly consistent throughout the series. But what does a writer do when she wants to use words that her character shouldn’t know? In Harris’s case, she gives Sookie access to a Word-a-Day calendar….