Eric VanRaepenbusch's Blog, page 8

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Ghost Gifts

We gave the Three Ghost Friends an early Christmas present.

There is still time to order paperback copies for your little ghosts before Christmas!

Order at Amazon.com

Color Wheel Twist: A Matching Game

Do you have little ones at home?  Do they eat baby food that comes in the little pouches?  I couldn't help notice that caps for baby food pouches came in all the colors necessary to explore primary and secondary colors.  I invented a way to use the caps in a game that could be used as extension activity for my book Three Ghost Friends: Learn About Colors.  This activity is designed for children ages 2-4, who are learning colors, but are no longer putting items in their mouth.  The pieces used in this activity require adult supervision.

What you will need:
1. Cardboard box -- I used a Medium Flat Rate Priority Mail Box from a recent delivery
2. Download the two game board sheets - color wheel and color words
3. Caps from baby food pouches -- red, blue, yellow, purple, green, and orange - 6 total caps
4. 12 nozzles from the baby food pouches
5. packaging tape
6. box cutter
7. scissors

You will need to collect and rinse the baby food pouch caps and nozzles. All colors are available. I found them easiest at Target. The nozzles can be cut out of the baby food pouch.  The nozzles are easily rinsed to remove any left over food by running them under the faucet. Once you have all the caps and nozzles, it is time to build your game board.  Download the two game board sheets (color wheel and color words) and print.  I used packaging tape to adhere them to my box.  Glue could also be used.  I used a box cutter to cut out the rectangular shapes on the game board papers.  Cut all the way through the paper and the cardboard. Once the rectangles have been cut, then push the nozzles up through the box and secure in place. Some nozzles popped right in place and others I needed to work with a little more.  But, I was quite pleased how secure the nozzles were in the box. This picture shows a secure nozzle. Once the nozzles are secure, then your child can play.  It is up to you how you use the game.  You can start the caps on the color wheel and then move to the caps to color words or vice versa. Don't forget to pick up your copy of Three Ghost Friends: Learn About Colors at Amazon.com!

Also, available as eBooks for iPad/iPhone and Kindle.

Three Ghost Friends Books Look Great Under the Tree!

Three Ghost Friends books look pretty good under the tree.  
They are available for purchase at Amazon.com with a BUY 3 GET 1 FREE promotion.  Just place all 4 books in your cart and $7.99 will be deducted at check out.
Thank you for your support!
Click here for a quick link to my AMAZON.COM author page to view the books.

Interview and Giveaway!

Thank you to Virginia Wright for interviewing me on her blog!  Please be sure to visit and comment for a chance to win copies of the THREE GHOST FRIENDS!!
Click here to read the interview!

Meet Janie Reinart on the LOVE YOU MORE THAN YOU KNOW Blog Tour

During the past year, I have been a member of a very supportive, helpful, and motivating writer's group.  One the members of the group, Janie Reinart, was one of the first people outside my family to tell me that my writing for children was enjoyable to hear.  I will never forget how it felt to have someone tell me that they thought what I wrote was well done. Janie truly is someone with others on her mind and in her heart.  She is caring and always wants people to feel that they matter. 

I was so excited that Janie asked me to participate in her blog tour that highlights the release of her book, Love You More Than You Know Mothers’ Stories About Sending Their Sons and Daughters to War , as an eBook.  The post below contains a book synopsis, an author interview, links to purchase the book, and information about the author.

I hope you enjoy this post and the rest of the blog tour.  Please support Janie in her efforts to support our troops and their families.




Book Synopsis:
In these stories, 45 mothers of U.S. service men and women open their hearts and share what it feels like when your son or daughter leaves home to fight a war. 
Some were stunned when they learned that their “baby” had enlisted. Others had long been familiar with military life. But all of these mothers knew their world had just changed the day their child called home and said, “Mom, I’m being deployed . . .”
They discovered the strange mix of pride and fear. The anxiety of not knowing exactly where in Iraq or Afghanistan your son is, whether your daughter is facing mortar fire or enduring heat and boredom. Elation at the arrival of the briefest postcard or email message. The daily dread, when returning home from work or a trip to the grocery store, of seeing a government car in the driveway and two soldiers at the door . . .
Anyone who reads their stories will admire their faith and courage–and better understand the sacrifices made by our U.S. service men and women and their families.

Author Interview:

Janie, I have really enjoyed reading all the posts during your blog tour. You shared on Love's Gumbo that you wrote about your “deepest fears and greatest hopes” after your son went to war. You also said you "realized how therapeutic it was to get thoughts on paper, that the idea for a book was born.” 
Can you tell us more about the process requesting stories and thoughts from other mothers? What was it like compiling and organizing them into the book?


The initial collection included only a dozen stories. I needed to reach more contributors. I had tried word of mouth, personal contacts, referrals, speaking engagements, and articles in the local community newspaper. I also wanted, interwoven in the chapters, to include copies of e-mails, letters, photos, and recollections of phone calls between mother and soldier(s). (Can you believe that some moms had more then one child deployed at a time?) All this was to be done free of political commentary.
Looking for a larger network, I turned to Regina Brett, a columnist at the Cleveland Plain Dealer, to put out a call for submissions. She graciously featured the vision for our anthology in her column and on her radio show on WCPN FM, our local NPR affiliate. My goals were to:
- Share stories from mothers of soldiers- Use writing as a therapeutic venue- Give back to our injured veterans
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to charities benefiting wounded veterans:
ReMIND.org, a Bob Woodruff Foundation initiative for injured service members and their families.
The Semper Fi Fund will also receive donations.
The response was overwhelming. Military moms from Ohio stepped forward and their writing would become the mouthpiece for the world community.
To organize the flood of e-mails, I painstakingly added names to my computer address book. I placed each story into its own electronic folder and included pictures, signed releases and author biographies. The stage was set. The contributors were invited to join my author blog for encouragement and tips as the writing began. Within a few months of selecting, editing, and compiling a manuscript, there were more stories to send to the publisher. It took three years (editing 70,000 words plus) from idea to launching of Love You More Than You Know Mothers’ Stories About Sending Their Sons and Daughters to War. The book contains 45 powerful stories of love, faith, and courage.

Since the book has been published and now the eBook, can you tell us about reactions you have received from your readers?

When I hear from readers by email, a post, a hand written note, or in person it always takes me by surprise and makes me tear up. We have an instant bond. Here are some reactions from readers:


Just a short note to let you know how very touched I am by not only your book, but by the recent post you shared about your son getting married. I am sending along prayers for a lifetime of abundant blessings for the happy couple…and for you, who has been a great comfort to me during our boy’s deployment. Thank you and may God continue to bless you.
Carol stopped me after choir practice and told me that reading Love You More Than You Know helped her better understand what her sisters were going through when her two nephews served in Iraq. Carol said, “ I wished I would have had more compassion for my siblings as they went though their journeys with their sons.” She told me how she admires the strength of all these mothers and their sons and daughters at war. Carol now thinks of all of these women as her sisters. She said, “Not only are all of these mothers our sisters, but their children belong to all of us too. “

I have been attending the Buckeye Book Fair for years—ever since my sons were toddlers, rarely missing the Fair. This year I am unable to attend. When I heard about your book, I knew it was one I have to have. Both to share and for myself.

Thank you for writing this book. I am hoping to gain a little insight and also a little more courage and understanding for when it’s my turn—you see, I cannot attend the Fair this year because I will be at Twenty-nine Palms, CA visiting my youngest son, my Marine. Thank you in advance for your advice on coping. Sincerely Barb W

What advice would you offer writers who are struggling to become published?

My advice would be:
·      Join a writing group or get a writing partner for input about your work.·      Don’t give up. Be persistent. ·      Do your homework to find a good match (publisher to query) for your project. I had good luck with a smaller press. My first query was sent to a large publishing house interested in war memoirs. My query was rejected. I sent a second query letter with three requested chapters and book outline to a regional press. I approached Gray & Company, Publishers, because they had published a book similar in format to what I envisioned for Love You More Than You Know. After two weeks, I received a call from the publisher.·      Attend workshops, conventions, and read to perfect your craft.·      Have fun and play with words!
Blog Tour Giveaway:

Click here to enter free giveaways of Love You More than You Know eBooks in honor of our Veterans and their families.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to charities benefiting wounded veterans:
ReMIND.org, a Bob Woodruff Foundation initiative for injured service members and their families.
The Semper Fi Fund will also receive donations.

Click here to buy the eBook on Amazon.com:



Click here to buy the print book on Amazon.com:



I am committed to continue bringing you true stories of our heroes in uniform, sharing with you the bravery and sacrifices that our troops and their families make everyday for all of us.
You are invited to share your story about your soldier here at 
www.loveyoumorethanyouknow.com as a guest blogger. 
Send stories to storiesfrommoms@gmail.com
About Janie Reinart 
As an author, teacher consultant, National Writing Project Fellow, storyteller, and poet, words are my tools. Janie seeks ways to give people a voice to tell their own stories through prose and poetry. She and her husband, Ed, are grateful for their five children and 10 grandchildren. Most weekends, you will find Janie praying and singing with the choir at Holy Angels Catholic Church.
Janie's chapter, “Boots to Ground “ in Love You More Than You Know, won second place in the National Federation of Press Women's 2010 Communications Contest in the category of a chapter/essay in a nonfiction book. Her chapter won first place in the Ohio Professional Writer's Communications Contest.
Janie's blog Love You More Than You Knowis a finalist for the 2012 Milbloggies (6th Annual) Best U.S. Military Parent Blog Award.

FREE Printable Halloween Thank You Notes!

Download and print Three Ghost Friends Halloween Thank You notes to tell your friends and family how much you appreciated their Halloween treats!
Directions: Download, print, fold in half, and then fold in half again.  Smile on my Face - Download Now!
"Spook"tacular - Download Now!
Happy in Happy Halloween - Download Now!
You are FaBOOlous! - Download Now!

Bingo Boards - Colors, Shapes, and GHOSTS!

Bingo is one of the best games for a family to play together.  It is easy to play and everyone gets a chance to win!


What you will need:

1. Download and print Bingo Boards and Bingo Cards.
2. Mount bingo boards on cardboard.
3. Cut bingo cards and place them in a bowl.
3. Create bingo markers. (I found ghost marshmallows on clearance after Halloween.  My kids loved snacking on them while playing!)
Click here to download - Six bingo boards and bingo cards The ghost marshmallow bingo markers were yummy! This bingo game allowed my son to work on his colors and shapes. I asked him to identify the color or the shape on the bingo card after I pulled it from the bowl.  My five-year-old was determined to win! Almost a BINGO! This simple bingo game allowed our family, with children 2-7, to play together! I hope you can enjoy it too!

How Pinterest Helped Promote My Self-Published Children's Books

It is fair to say that most people have heard of Pinterest, a website that allows users to "pin" images from websites to virtual bulletin boards. However, some are still hesitant to invest time in yet another social media website.  My goal of this post is to share with you how Pinterest helped me to successfully promote my Three Ghost Friends children's books. I hope after reading this post you will be encouraged to think about how you can effectively use Pinterest to market your children's books.

First, I feel like I need to summarize how Pinterest works. Once you establish an account, you become a member of the Pinterest community, and this makes you a "pinner"! Pinners can create any number of virtual bulletin boards to organize any number of images from any number of websites. Each image that is "pinned" to your virtual bulletin board contains a URL that allows the image to be clicked to take you back to the website where you first pinned.  Once an image is pinned it is added to a "feed" for all of the people that follow your pins.  Then, they can repin your pin if they like what they see.  You may also choose to follow other people because they might pin really cool stuff.  You can choose to repin their pins onto your boards too.

You can use Pinterest as a pinner that is searching for the next best recipe or craft idea or even inspiration for the next story you want to write.

You can use Pinterest as a pinner that has created the next best recipe or craft idea or story that you want share with people and atrract them to your blog or website to find out more.

And of course you can do both!

Ok...now with my Pinterest story...

In March 2012, I published my first Three Ghost Friends eBook, Three Ghost Friends: Learn About Colors .  I planned to use social media to get the word out about my new venture into children's book publishing.

I was asked by Jennifer Young on her blog in April 2012 about my eBook promotion plans.  I explained to her that I planned to use Facebook as the focal point of my book promotion.  Earlier on, I built a large Facebook audience by promoting contests and giveaways. Once I had an audience of about 5,000 people, I began blogging about crafts and activities that families could do together after reading my eBook.  I shared the links on Facebook, but decided to also share on Twitter and a Three Ghost Friends Pinterest board.  Publishing three additional eBooks in the Three Ghost Friends series provided an opportunity for me to continue to develop more activity ideas including numerous FREE printables. 
My blog's traffic averaged monthly pageviews ranging between 1,500 - 3,000 from April - September 2012. In April and May 2012, I published 40 blog posts with new activities or book related announcements.  I was motivated to develop numerous posts each week hoping that my Facebook audience would take notice, share my ideas with their friends, and ultimately buy my eBooks. This did not happen like I had hoped. Facebook proved to be very difficult to get people to notice the postings and practically impossible to get people to share with their friends.  However, I began to notice that the majority of the traffic I was getting to my blog was from my Three Ghost Friends Pinterest Board. I VERY was intrigued -- luckily was not discourage by my Facebook failure -- and continued to make activities and printables. In the months of June through September 2012, I averaged about 7 posts each month and continued to post on all three social networking sites. Pinterest continued to be the website that was referring the most visitors to my blog each month.

I noticed that content creators on Pinterest, like me, were creating really cool images to advertise blog posts or website pages that had LOTS of content like Top 10 lists.  I realized that I had racked up a lot of content so I made a static ACTIVITY PAGE on my blog.  Then, I made a new pinnable image for my ACTIVITY PAGE and shared it on Pinterest too.
My first image promoting my ACTIVITY PAGE.Meanwhile, more and more people were saying to me that my eBooks would be great for Halloween.  It actually had never crossed my mind because the first three eBooks have nothing to do with Halloween -- they just happen to have ghosts as the main characters.  So, I wrote a Halloween eBook and began to focus my energy on the Halloween holiday to spread the word my books.

In October 2012, I published 13 new blog posts with new activities and printables.  I expected a bump in blog traffic with the increased blog posts and the Halloween-time of the year, but I didn't expect what actually happened.

During the month of October this blog had over 16,000 pageviews. This was more than all the other months combined. How did this explosion of blog traffic happen?  I have Pinterest to thank.


In the month of October 2012, Pinterest referred over 2,700 visitors to the blog.  Additionally, the third highest referring site (Thank you! Growing a Jeweled Rose) brought over 500 referrals by featuring one of my pins from Pinterest in a blog post!  So, over 3,200 referrals technically speaking came from Pinterest.

Which pins brought in the traffic?

My most popular pin was the Ghost Crafts and Activities pin that I mentioned above.  It received 311 repins, which means that someone saw the pin on Pinterest and pinned it to one of their boards. This is exactly what you want as a content creator. Remember that after a repin the pin then shows up in the "feed" for all if that pinners followers.  Therefore, all it takes is one "pinner" to repin your content to give it new chance spread to new people. (This is exactly why I love pinterest! Sharing is built into the system!)

As my content started to grow, I made a new image for my ACTIVITIES PAGE.
The "pin" of this image received 190 repins.The graph below shows how these two pins help drive traffic to my activities page:

Over 4400 pageviews for the activities page just in the month of October!
In addition to these pins, I had a few pins about individual activities that did very well too. They made their rounds with pinners that were preschool teachers, parents, and homeschoolers.

This pin was for Boo! I Found You! Homemade Look-and-Find Bottle that helped promote my Three Ghost Friends: Learn About Colors and Three Ghost Friends: Learn About Shapes books received 87 repins. My Feed the Ghosts: Color Sort to promote Three Ghost Friends: Learn About Colors received 71 repins.
As Halloween approached I started to notice lots of great ghost recipes and decoration ideas in my Pinterest feed.  Many of them actually featured "three ghosts" in the image like 3 ghost cookies in Ghost No-Bake Cookies from Freckleberry Finds and 3 ghost decorations in Hanging Ghosts from Simple Designing.  I began pinning these ideas to my Three Ghost Friends Pinterest Board too.  I found that I liked pinning other ghost ideas to my Three Ghost Friends board.  Now the followers of my board were receiving more ghost ideas for Halloween than I could ever produce myself and I was able to help other content creators by sharing their really cool ideas.  My Pinterest Board now showcases over 200 pins about ghosts! I feel like I was curator of all fun things "ghost" this Halloween.

If you have read this far and you are a children's book author you are probably just waiting for me to talk about how many books I sold because of Pinterest.

The answer is that I really do not know for sure.  But, there was a 600% increase in my Amazon.com affiliate click-through sales from the month of September to October. This means that people were at my website and decided to purchase my books. (Thankfully, my local writer's group helped me with my website and made my books very visible for purchase! Thanks ladies!)

I also know that it is extremely hard to sell books as a first-time self-published author.   I have been blessed with many friends and family that have supported me by buying my books both as eBooks and in print.  Additionally, early on, I was lucky to have my eBooks featured in the Children's Picture Book section at the Apple iBookstore.  But, I found that every opportunity to sell books usually dried up over time.  Therefore, I have tried to find new ways to promote my books which was exhausting, difficult, and sometimes frustrating --yet for some reason I enjoyed every minute of it.  However, my Pinterest experience was quite the contrary.  Sure, it took many hours to create the activities and write the blog posts, but Pinterest and its many "pinners" did much of the marketing for me through their repinning.  My Three Ghost Friends activities that I made over the summer were given new life in October thanks to the Pinterest community!

My final thoughts...

If you are content creator or a children's book author you need to showcase your work on Pinterest. If your content is relevant, then the "pinners" will find it and help share your work. I never expected this, but I love knowing that a family may spent time together doing an activity that I shared on Pinterest.

Lastly, I did my best to cram my whole Pinterest experience into one blog post.  Please do not hesitate to ask questions in the comments section.

Oh...and if you love my Three Ghost Friends or just ghosts in general, please follow my Pinterest Board.

Ghost Ten Frames

A ten frame is a way to visually organize a set of objects. Ten frames are used to teach children a visual image for a number in the range of 1-10.  Ten frames are used in Kindergarten and first grade classrooms to show students how to create images of numbers.  Students are asked different questions about what they see when they are shown the frame quickly, for 1-2 seconds.

Questions such as "How many ghosts did you see?" or "How many empty boxes?" require a student to have a quick image of the number they saw.  Asking questions such as "How many more ghosts do you need to make 10?" requires them to know their facts to ten, and to be able to combine two numbers to make a new number.
Ten frames with the ghosts provide another setting for your child or students to practice their understanding of ten frames.
You will need:1.  Download and print ghost ten frames printable (links to download are below)2.  Scissors
*Note*-  Each printable has 2 sets of tens frames, arranged in 2 different orders.  The first set of 10 is arranged in a 5 wise pattern.  It is used to show students that a number such as 7 is created with a 5 and a 2.  The second set of 10 is arranged in a pair wise pattern, to show that a number such as 7 is created with a 4 and a 3.  Students typically learn both pair wise and 5 wise patterns, and knowledge of both is beneficial. Click here to download horizontal Ghost Ten Frames Click here to download vertical Ghost Ten Frames
Directions:1. Download and print the ghost ten frame printable.2. Cut each ten frame into a single frame.3. Make a pile of the ten frames in random order, using only one set, either the 5-wise set, or the pair wise set.4. Sitting across from your chid or student, quickly show them the image of the ten frame by flashing it to them.  Ask them a variety of questions, including "How many ghosts did you see?",  "How many were empty?", "How many all together?", "How many more to make ten?"5. Practice these ten frames until your child/student can answer all the questions about the cards automatically without counting or having to see the boxes again to check their answers.

Here is video to learn more about Ten Frames: