Stranded

The candlelight flickered. The dancing flame threw eerie shadows on the wall. Cinnamon and pine fill the air with the aroma of autumn. The last of the residual heat is only a warm memory. I wrap the blanket around me a little tighter to stay the cold as best I can.

The storm that started in the morning still rages. The wind whips around the house, tossing the branches overloaded with heavy wet snow. Every now and then a sharp snap interrupts the quiet. A tree limb drops landing with a dull thud setting the loose snow flying.

For now the beauty and simplicity of the night are enough. I’ll catch up with things tomorrow when I have power and can boot up my computer. I’ve written today’s blog on my cell phone. I’ll go find Paul. He’s gone off into the other room.

Jeez, what will we do all night? Any auggestions?

NJRW 2011 Put Your Heart In a Book Conference - Empower Your Muse

After months of planning, the 28^th annual NJRW conference came to a close on Saturday night. As this year’s assistant conference chair I may be biased but the event was really flawless, well the fire alarm during Friday’s cocktail party wasn’t planned but certainly added to the excitement.

Suzanne Brockmann

Over 310 people attended the two day conference. Lori LaSpada and Jennifer Sampson did a great job with registration. There were over 40 workshops covering craft, industry and writer wellness topics. Marlo Berliner, the conference chair and I did a pitching workshop to a packed room. Thanks to the hard work of Terri Brisbin and Kathleen Long there were over 30 editors and agents taking pitches and participating in the editor and agent panel discussions. Phyllis Nugent and Lita Harris managed the Book Fair and Signing with over 50 authors. Donations were given to Literacy Volunteers of America.

Julie Schroeder did an awesome job with the materials, sometimes with very quick turn arounds. Maureen Boylan kept us on budget and yet found the greatest give aways, Kat Attalia spruced up our surroundings with balloons and muses. Lena Pinto and Janet Pepsin rounded up the volunteers that helped out with everything. Val Luna and her team put together about 70 baskets that were raffled off throughout the weekend. BethAnn Kerber had oversight of the Goodie Room. The half day retreat for published authors was led by Nancy Herkness and Roni Denholtz. Joe Nasta saw to the transportation needs of our big four speakers as well as the agents and editors.

Victoria Alexander

Our Put Your Heart in a Book contest for unpublished authors was chaired by Maureen Boylan and Shirley Hailstock. The Golden Leaf contest for published authors was chaired by Maria Ketterer, Jodi Rotondo, and Michele Mahon. Anne Walradt made the entries come alive when she read excerpts from each of the Golden Heart finalists. 

Marissa O’Neill from B&N Book Club wrote a great article about the conference. She interviewed our speakers and many of our authors and attendees.

I have to admit, I had some GREAT fan-girl moments with Suzanne Brockmann, Victoria Alexander, Rachel Gibson, Brenda Novak, and Elosia James. I nearly jumped out of my seat when my good friend Lisa Verge Higgins won Golden Leaf Award.

There are some great pictures on the New Jersey Romance Writers FaceBook page. Stop by and take a peek.

It was wonderful to spend time with friends I only speak to on the loops and via email. I enjoyed dancing with close friends and making new ones. We kept the dance floor hopping at the after party.

I’m tired, achy but still smiling, for a little while. We start again right after Thanksgiving planning the next one. To whet your appetite, next year’s featured speakers include:

Susan Wiggs our pre-conference speaker

Jim and Nikko Goldrick who will do a special presentation

Heather Graham our luncheon speaker

Sabrina Jefferies our keynote speaker 

I hope to see you there!

Writer's Retreat

Writing is a solitary thing. You sit at your desk and scribble with a pen/pencil or you type on your computer. It’s just you and the page. Personally, I love to brainstorm. I find it ‘feeds’ my mind, gets my creative juices going. So when the vice president of NYRWA suggested a writer’s retreat I jumped at the chance.

Friday, eleven of us traipsed to Ocean Grove, New Jersey just the other side of Asbury Park on the Jersey shore and are at the Ocean Grove Inn. The weather is temperate, bright, and sunny. There are no plans for a speaker or presentations. Our plan is to write and share.

I’m getting a head start on this post. It’s Saturday morning and we’re all scattered around. Some have gone for a walk at the beach to catch some inspiration (and walk off breakfast). Some of us are in the comfortable living room, heads how and writing. Others are out on the deck doing pretty much the same thing, writing. We’ve decided to all meet back here to walk over to another inn noted for their wonderful tea and catch up on our day of writing. Later we’ll take a peek at another great sunset and, apropos, we’ll tour the paranormal museum after dinner.

Then it’s back to the inn to fill up more pages. Writing may be singular, but it doesn’t have to be solitary. Do you like to write alone or with company? Do you need inspiration?

Romance novels rock. Romance readers rock. Romance writers rock.

Look through The New York Times and USA Today best-sellers lists. Do you see a disproportion of genres? I thought there would be a stronger representation of romance books on the weekly lists considering the number of romance books sold.  Statistics, available on the RWA website clearly indicate romance fiction is popular has the largest market share of all genres (in the US consumer market), and when compared to other genres makes twice as much as the next genre (religion/inspirational).

I thought I would see a different mix of genres when The New York Times added a separate ebook listing. Everything I’ve read said ereaders were a boon to romance readers who no longer had to hid their lusty covers from on-lookers. Sales of romance ebooks were going taking off and even non-romance proponents, Barnes & Noble, were embracing (every pun intended) the genre.  Julie Bosman had a great article in the December  9th New York Times.

This past Tuesday, I read an article in USA Today that gave me hope for our genre. Joyce Lamb, a copy editor for the news service as well as a well published romance writer, convinced the powers that be to begin a new column, Happy Ever After. You got it, a romance book column. Here is a link to her first blog. I have it from a very reliable source that USA Today will officially announce HEA this Thursday.

According to Ms. Lamb,  the blog will “shower” us with book reviews and author interviews to help us get to know the authors better and isn’t that what we really want.

Here is an excerpt from Joyce’s post:

Joyce Lamb

To kick things off, I thought I'd share with readers some things you might not know about romance writers:

Romance writers come in all shapes, sizes and flavors, and here at Happy Ever After we're going to meet as many as we can, even the ones who write really hot erotica. (Wait, is that redundant?) In other words, HEA is an equal opportunity blog.

Romance writers are incredibly supportive of each other. Seriously. We do virtual high-fives daily as one of us finishes her first book, lands the literary agent of her dreams, makes her first sale (also known as "getting The Call"), holds her book for the first time, buys her first Italian villa, and so on. We just can't get enough of encouraging each other.

Romance writers are fun. If you don't believe me, then take one, or several, out for drinks.

Romance writers, many of us anyway, have a deep and abiding love for Joss Whedon. The TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer embodies everything that romance novels aspire to be. If you're sneering again, get lost. We'll wait while you gather your things. Don't forget to take that judgmental look on your face. (Hums Jeopardy theme song.) OK, now that the unenlightened are gone, where were we? Oh, yeah, why Buffy is so great: Vampire slayer in love with a vampire. Best. Romantic. Conflict. EVER. I love me some Bella and Edward, but Buffy and Angel won my heart first.

Romance writers, some of us anyway, are at least somewhat like the characters in our books (not the villains, of course. Well, OK, maybe just a teeny weeny bit). You know how funny Susan Elizabeth Phillips' books are? She's just as funny in person. You know how Nora Roberts' heroines are kind and passionate and wield a wicked sense of humor? That's her, too. I could go on, but you'll see what I mean as HEA gets going and you get to meet authors you might not have met before.

Romance writers don't sleep much. Many have full-time jobs and families on top of their writing careers. That makes for some late … (soft snoring sounds) … wha? Oh, hello. I think you get the picture.

Romance writers are Smart, with a capital S. And I'm not just saying that because I want you to THINK we're smart. Writing a novel, any kind of novel, is HARD. (I'm not yelling, I'm just emphasizing.) Writing a romance novel isn't any easier just because it's a romance. You know how hard it is in real life to have a balanced, loving relationship while dealing with all the chaos of life? It's no easier in a romance novel. In fact, it's WAY harder, cuz our characters often are totally messed up, in life and in love. At least in the beginning. Another reason we're really smart: We have to know stuff. For example, Suzanne Brockmann could probably, in one glance, identify the make and model of the assault rifle hidden in the back of my closet, just waiting for the apocalypse. (Kidding.) Lisa Gardner could probably profile a serial killer. Jane Graves could probably bake the perfect cupcake. Linda Howard could probably lead you out of the wilderness alive. See? Smart. And if you don't believe me, go visit the awesome Smart Bitches, Trashy Books blog, run by the awesome Sarah Wendell. I'll wait. (Hums theme of I Dream of Jeannie. I don't know why.) Back already? I hope you remembered to bookmark, though I'm sure many of you have already spent many hours there. And, heck, while we're pimping out SBTB, for no other reason than I'm a fan, you might want to check out Sarah's upcoming Everything I Know About Love I Learned from Romance Novels. VERY smart. (Sarah, you're my snark idol.)

Romance writers almost always will tell you the same thing when you ask this question: Why do you write romance? Answer: Because we live for the happily ever after. Life is often hard and sad and depressing, and romances are the great escape. That's why romances are the best-selling novels on the planet. No, make that "in the universe." Why try to spare the literary writers' feelings? They need to accept the fact that without romance writers to support the bottom line, literary writers wouldn't be basking in the glow of their New York Times book reviews. Is that 'tude you detect in my tone? (Shrugs slightly.) Maybe. Earned it, though. And that's why we're here.

Here's some of what HEA has coming up in the next few weeks:

Interviews with Lavinia Kent (Regency author), Jane Graves (contemporary), Virna DePaul (paranormal and contemporary), Jill Shalvis (contemporary), Erin Quinn (paranormal), Shawn Lane (gay erotic romance), Christy Reece (romantic suspense), Desiree Holt (erotica), Keri Arthur (paranormal), Ann Christopher (African-American romance) and Mariah Stewart (contemporary) — and that's just in the next few weeks.

HEA will also have reviews of the latest releases by all the authors above, as well as lots of other reviews and features, including introductions to debut authors you might not know yet and sneak peeks at upcoming new releases.

Let the romance novel love begin.
****

Great, right? Leave a comment here and please, if you can, leave a comment on Joyce’s blog, Happy Ever After and tell her Ruth A. Casie sent you!

Getting People to Buy Your Book

Not too long ago I was researching ways to promote Knight of Runes. Many of my author friends have been helpful in giving me ideas (thanks to all of you) and pointed me to wonderful sources. I don’t want to leave any stone unturned in this quest, a personality trait that makes my kid’s eyes roll, but that’s a story for another time. My search led me to the March 2010 post by author Derek Haines.

I knew my search was a success when I read the blog title, Ten Golden Rules For Successful Writing And Getting People To Buy Your Books. Now I either had the answer to my search or a clever hook to entice me to buy someone else’s book. I knew a little bit about Mr. Haines but not much. I read on and wasn’t disappointed. I’ve included his post below. If you’d like to read his other words of wisdom for authors, here is Derek’s original post.

For those of you who are either contemplating becoming an author, or those writers who want to get to the bestseller status fast, I thought I would share what I believe to be the ten prime factors for success. Some are highly technical while others require hours and hours of practice and perfection, but I am sure you will see the benefits very quickly from following my Ten Golden Rules For Successful Writing And Getting People To Buy Your Books.

1. Always include blank pages at the back of the book. This makes the book thicker, so looks like better value.

2. Be consistent with spelling mistakes. The reader’s brain will adjust.

3. Always dedicate your book to your mother. This increases the ‘Awwww’ factor, and also gives you an opportunity to include another blank pager after it.

4. If you have a long name, change it. Bestselling authors must restrict both their names to five letters or less.

5. If you are under fifty, do not put a photo of yourself on the back cover. Writers must look mature.

6. Use a lot of dialogue. It takes up more page space. (Helps point one) Narrative tends to be in good solid paragraphs, so stay clear on neat economical space saving paragraphs as much as possible.

7. Get your very best friend, wife or sibling to write the blurb for the back of your book.

8. Use short and simple words. Long words reduce your market potential to only those readers with high IQs.

9. Always start a sentence with a Capital Letter, and try to remember the full stop at the end. It helps readers navigate better.

10. Make sure you have some sort of story to tell. Three hundred pages of:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, sapien platea morbi dolor lacus nunc, nunc ullamcorper. Felis aliquet egestas vitae, nibh ante quis quis dolor sed mauris. Erat lectus sem ut lobortis, adipiscing ligula eleifend, sodales fringilla mattis dui nullam. Ac massa aliquet Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, sapien platea morbi dolor lacus nunc, nunc ullamcorper. Felis aliquet egestas vitae, nibh ante quis quis dolor sed mauris. Erat lectus sem ut lobortis, adipiscing ligula eleifend, sodales fringilla mattis dui nullam. Ac massa aliquet

has proven not to sell very well, even though it does speed up writing a lot.

Bonus Rule: Always include a 404 page not found link to help readers get back to where they were.

*** End of Post ***

Speaking of buying your books, Knight of Runes is now available for Pre-Order at Barnes & Noble.

What are some of your golden rules for writing and getting people to buy your book? I would really love to know.

It Started with a Whisper

It started when my friend Denise whispered, “I’m going to write a romance novel.” Story snippets of dashing men and valiant women have always raced through my mind only to fade when the phone rang, the traffic light changed, or the kids got loud. I thought I was a real Walter Mitty. But Denise’s whisper made me stop and think. Could I write a book, I mean really, write a story and get it published?

How many times had I enjoyed reading a story so much that when it was over I would ‘write’ the epilog. I wasn’t willing to say good-bye just yet. Just one more … well, just more. My friend’s whisper raced around my head for days. My romantic daydreams have plots and my characters have their goals, motivations, and conflicts. Dare I commit my story to paper? I didn’t decide to write. I needed to write, a compulsion that turned into liberation. How empowering for my stories to come alive, to give my characters breath, and watch the words fill page after page. But that’s only part of my adventure. The genre surprised my family but oh how well it fit.

For me the lure of time travel has led to many wonderful stories filled with adventure and romance. My early favorites included Rip Van Winkle, A Connecticut in King Arthur’s Court, The Time Machine, Outlander and Knight in Shining Armor and, as I read more, I’ve added others to the list. What is it about time travel that readers find it so compelling? Time travel stories provide a unique writing devise where characters can reunite with someone they’ve lost, they can fix a past mistake, or they can look into the future. I was interested in looking at the past. Contemporary really didn’t interest me but the past was a treasure trove to me. My debut story, Knight of Runes, is a historical time travel.  

In my time travel story, the conflict centers around the very different attitudes of a woman’s place in society, the disenfranchised woman of the 17^th century juxtaposed against the liberated woman of the 21^st century. How she faces the attitudes and how she and the people she meets learn to deal with each other are a big part of the story as well as adventure and romance.

What genre do you like to read? What are your favorite stories? Wait, let me get a little closer. Whisper it in my ear …

The Romance of Time Travel

I was doing research for this week’s blog on time travel and found a wonder post from Jody Beck’s Women’s Forum. I was excited to see authors that I know and admire on Jodi’s lists.

Here is her post. I've added it here below for your convenience.

Time travel romance novels writers have carved out their very own genre of romance novels. These splendid stories are romance at the core and they appeal to a wide variety of people because they carry aspects of a few other beloved genres. Some people think of time travel romances as historical romances because time travel means going back in time.  In reality they are far more variegated than that.  Time travel romance novels are one of the more exciting genres within the romance genre. Time travel books can also be part of another genre such as futuristic, science fiction, Dungeons & Dragons, or paranormal romance. Women who like other aspects of romance novels beyond just the romance typically love time travel romance novels.  You'll be hooked before you know it.  The following novels come highly recommended for a "far out and away" trip to anywhere. The following novels come highly recommended for a "far out and away" trip to anywhere.

Take a little trip this summer, the options are many...

Books That Time Travel to Old England

There are many time travel books that take either the male or female character back in time. It seems that traveling back to England in the 15th century or later is the most common location of time travel romances. A few of these books are listed below.

• The Queen's Man by Terri Brisbin
• What would Jane Austin Do? by Laurie Brown
• Gallimore by Michelle M. Griep
• Awaken, My Love by Robin Schone
• A Knight to Cherish by Angie Ray

Books Within a Series With Time Travel

Some book series have characters that time travel in only a couple of books. This is perfect for the reader who is wondering if they would enjoy time travel romance novels. A couple of different series and the time travel books within them are listed below.  From the Dark-Hunter series:

• Dragonswan by Sherrilyn Kenyon
• Night Play by Sherrilyn Kenyon
• Unleash the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon

From the Viking series:

• The Reluctant Viking by Sandra Hill
• The Outlaw Viking by Sandra Hill

Time Travel Series

There are also full series of books that are considered time travel romance series. These books are for people who love the time travel romance genre. The nice thing about reading a time travel series is that the author is familiar with switching time periods and it is often easier to read than authors who write a time travel novel once. A few different time travel book series are listed below.

• The Highlander Series by Karen Marie Moning
• Viking Series II by Sandra Hill
• Time Hunter Series by Angela Knight
• Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon

Time Travel to Modern Times

Although time travel romance novels typically travel backwards, some of them bring a character forward in time. These books are set in today's world but one of the main characters will have to learn to deal with things like cars, TVs, and other modern inventions. The fun thing about these books is that the time traveling characters have to deal things that they never even imagined could be invented. A few different romance novels that bring characters ahead in time are listed below.

• Night Games by Nina Bangs
• Beloved Warrior by Judy Di Canio
• It's About Time by Charlotte Douglas
• Timeswept Rogue by Amy J. Fetzer
• Quinn's Way by Rebecca Flanders

Futuristic Time Travel

Futuristic time travel books take the reader to new worlds that are created completely from the author's imagination. These books are exciting because the reader gets to learn about the characters as well as the new world. Some futuristic time travel romance novels are listed below.

• Never Love a Stranger by Ellen Fisher
• All Our Tomorrows by Eden Robins

What’s your favorite time travel story?

Never Forget

       My tradition encompasses all of life, day and night, light and dark, even in the most difficult of situations--the imminent and then actual loss of a loved one. My beliefs are there to give me strength, to guide me, and to help me grow and see beyond the loss.

       It is my hope that you use whatever words and ideas are helpful to you as we pay honor to all those lost on September 11 and to their survivors who need our support. 

       If you would like, please share your thoughts, feelings, where you were ten years ago. Sometime the burden is just too heavy to shoulder alone.

Romance Over the Centuries

This week I found a great post on Sapphire Phelan’s Passion Center. She had a great overview of the history of romance over the centuries. She provided insight into the etymology (origin) of words, history of romantic practices, and how love and marriage has changed over the centuries.

The need to procreate and to be close to another person hasn’t changed over the centuries. It's part of who and what we are. What has changed is how we go about it. The romance of it all.

Sapphire’s post starts with the Greek explanation of the four types of love, philia, brotherly or familial love, eros intimate or romantic love, storge an affection or fondness and agape a selfless or spiritual love.

The definition locked down, she begins her march through time. This is what I found so intriguing. She acknowledges the brutality of the ancients raiding villages to capture wives, and moved on to the Medieval custom of arranged marriages for property, monetary and political alliances. She also provided the origin of honeymoon.

I hadn’t realized that today’s courting rituals was rooted in medieval chivalry. “The importance of love in a relationship emerged as a reaction to arranged marriages. Still, it was not considered a prerequisite in matrimonial decisions. Suitors wooed their intended with serenades and flowery poetry… Chastity and honor were highly regarded virtues. In 1228, women first gained the right to propose marriage in Scotland, a legal right that then slowly spread through Europe.”  This era saw the rise of romance in literature and on the stage, albeit only men performing.

Loves spoons were all the rage in 17th century Wales as a way for a suitor to state his case. In England, chivalrous gentlemen sent a pair of gloves to the object of their affection hoping they would wear them to church on Sunday as a sign of their acceptance. The Renaissance had its own customs keeping in mind that the main goal was to produce children.

During the Victorian Era courting was very formal and controlled. As Sapphire mentioned, “It became a sort of art form among the upper classes.” There’s a great web site by Michelle J. Hoppe that gives all the particulars for Courting the Victorian Lady.

Today, romance still blooms. Many of the traditional methods of dating are no longer of much use to either sex these days. Though some of even the oldest ideas are still considered romantic in our times, many are not practiced simply because they do not seem to fit in our modern world. 

To me romance is soft and tender quiet words spoken, small things done without asking, it’s time alone as well as time with friends. It’s a touch, a kiss, a whisper, and sometimes even silence.

How do you like your romance?

Hurricane Preparedness

Every year we go on a family vacation. This year we all went to North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Needless to say we’ve been watching the weather channel and checking the airlines to keep on top of the hurricane situation. We leave this afternoon to travel back to New Jersey and will get home ahead of the storm.

My daughter received an email from her former boss, an environmental specialist. It included a link to a blog. It has great emergency information and I've reprinted the blog here. 

Everyone, stay safe!

Hurricane Irene Aug 24, 2011

Hurricane Preparedness 2011: Smartphone Up!

The smartest thing you can get for hurricane preparedness is an off-grid charger for your cell phone.  A cell phone — particularly a smartphone — can serve as “find me” whistle, flashlight, information channel, family finder, and so much more.  Remember that smartphones especially have a short battery life.  This cannot be over-emphasized.  Nokero’s solar charger is good, see details here.  Or go to your nearest Sprint store or Whatever store or go to Best Buy and see what they have.

A serious hurricane in New England?  My father sat through a hurricane in 1938 that took down almost all the trees around Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire — where the family had a summer house.

EMERGENCY KIT From experience, then, the Sensible Yankee hurricane emergency kit includes basics.  You can get through just about anything with: 

-  two gallons of water (supermarket) 

- your eyeglasses/contact lenses/sunglasses/reading glasses 

- your meds 

- a sleeping bag or blanket or warm winter coat, pillows are nice 

- non-perishable food (eg, canned food with can opener, Twinkies, Powerbars) 

- extra flashlights and batteries 

- Swiss Army Knife

Online, it appears the government preparedness instructions haven’t changed much since 1938.

FEMA has you storing up “moist towelettes” (?), a dust mask (?), a NOAA Weather Radio (no one under 40 knows what that is) and traveler’s checks (what?).

Suggestion: start with phone and off-grid charger and our Sensible Yankee list, above.  Then add stuff from their list if you have an encyclopedia, historical reference guide, and a lot of time to identify dated items and shop at 12 different stores and wait in line at a bank for traveler’s checks (again, what?).

OVERNIGHT BAG: Pack, because you may need to evacuate or you may not be able to find your stuff under stress.  Pretend you’re going camping for 3 days and pack accordingly.  Include toothpaste, toothbrush, medications, vitamins, clothes; all the things you normally need.

If you’ve never been camping, pack as if you’re going to the wrong side of Detroit for three days and staying in a half-star motel with no fridge or running water.  Bring your own blankets, sheets & pillow.  Leave your strappy high-heeled sandals behind.

CHILDREN: If you have small children, and it’s not possible to travel to a safe place, then collect your gear and put it all in one place:  a safe, windowless room, as if you’re about the load the car for a 3 day camping trip.  Now you’re ready to evacuate if you need to, and you know where all your stuff is either way: your clothes, water, food, cookstove, candles or lanterns, etc. are all in one place.

Treat it like a fun camping-trip sort of adventure — kids often react to these things the same way you do.  For details and (you guessed it) a more extensive list of obscure stuff, see www.ready.org.

FLYING GLASS: Most injuries in a serious storm come from flying glass and debris, usually puncture wounds.  This is one of those incredibly obvious things we don’t think of.  So:  during the actual storm, keep away from windows and exterior doors.  This is for real.  The basement or closet or bathroom is likely safest, e.g., rooms with fewest portals to the outside.

PETS: Put pet food, leash, an extra gallon of water, their favorite blanket, and their favorite chew toy in a plastic garbage bag — put it in the trunk of the car — with their crate — now or as close to now as you can.  We emphasize now because pet care is the easiest to ignore in an urgent situation and as a result causes the most heartache.  Don’t even flirt with it.  Here’s more from FEMA on pets — but we didn’t have time to read all that.

UTILITIES: If a serious hurricane is coming your way and you own your home or are responsible for your home, shut off your utilities.  Here’s how.

If you’re like most people under 40 who only read 40 words of any given web page and never read the manual:  get a neighbor to come over and show you how to shut off utilities.  People like to show off what they know and you get a custom lesson — you also get to find out what a monkey wrench actually is, and how to use one, which is kind of fun.

Junk in the trunk: On a preparedness note, if you’re not a New England native, you may not know this:  in northern winter months from September –> May it’s imperative to always have in your car anyway:

•         a blanket or sleeping bag
•          old but still functional hat, mittens, gloves
•          old wool sweater, just in case
•          an old (super-warm) coat you wouldn’t wear unless you had to
•          at least one flashlight, loaded with good batteries, preferably two flashlights
•          Swiss Army Knife (canopener, screwdriver, knife)
•          water bottle (you may need to fill it)
•          off-grid smartphone charger

Believe me, you’ll feel better having these things.

Here’s FEMA’s take: http://www.fema.gov/help/widgets/prepared_hurricane.html

The truth is that if you have a cell phone and an off-grid charger, you can just call for help, company, or pizza delivery.