Available now from Limitless Publishing, LLC is the paranormal romance Her Black Soul, book three in the Dark Amulet Series, by A.J. Norris.

Never underestimate the power of a pirate . . .

Captain James Steele is duty bound to capture the privateer Scarlet Night and bring her rebellious crew to England to hang. Then he will leave his majesty’s service, make an upstanding marriage, and join the landed gentry. But the winds of fate are blowing the straitlaced commander utterly off course.

Once aboard, James comes face to face with a pirate boy who is in reality fierce, desperate—and gorgeous—Samantha Christian, on the run from a sadistic Virginia plantation owner. With her identity unbound, the good captain dutifully takes her under his personal command, whereupon decorum goes out the porthole. But while his heart is lost to Samantha by the time they reach England, her noose still awaits. Now James’s sense of duty will be severely tested. As for Samantha, she has a plan, and a duty, of her own . . .

Mill Creek Ent.; Rated R; 915 minutes; $14.98

Now available on DVD from Mill Creek Entertainment is Faces Of Horror: 10 Movie Collection, featuring the cult classics When A Stranger Calls, and Happy Birthday To Me. There are no special features or bonus features on the three disc set.

When A Stranger Calls (1979; 97 minutes) is no stranger to horror fans. Directed by Fred Dalton, the first twenty minutes centers on a babysitter (played by Carol Kane) being harassed by an unknown man who keeps calling her, asking "Have you checked on the children?" The majority of the movie focus on an ex-cop (played by Charles Durning) chasing doing a serial killer, and while it does get a little boring, it's still one of the better "early" slasher films.

Happy Birthday To Me (1981; 110 minutes) this Canadian-American slasher film wasn't exactly a hit back in 1981, but over time the movie has become a cult classic. Directed by J. Lee Thompson, the film starred Melissa Sue Anderson as Virginia "Ginny" Wainwright, a high school student who suffers from horrifying flashbacks after a series of murders occur around the academy she attends. While it borrows heavily from the original Friday the 13th film, the twisted ending makes up for all the cliches.

The other eight films on the three-disc set are low-budget. Many of them are in the public-domain and have appeared in other horror set releases.

These movies are:

• Double Exposure (1983; 95 minutes)
• Click: The Calendar Girl Killer (1990; 86 minutes)
• Don't Answer The Phone! (1980; 95 minutes)
• Scream Bloody Murder (1975; 85 minutes)
• Silent Night, Bloody Night (1974; 85 minutes)
• Savage Weekend (1976; 86 minutes)
• The Demon (1979; 95 minutes)
• The Manipulator (1971; 91 minutes)

Mill Creek Ent.; TV-G; 293 minutes; $9.98

Now available to own on DVD from Mill Creek Entertainment is It's Ernest! The Complete Series, featuring all 13 wacky episodes from the 1988 children series. There are no special features or extras on the disc. However, it come win an "Instant Digital Access" code that can be redeemed at: www.millcreekent.com/redeem

Every kid who grew up in the late 80s and throughout the early 90s knows the name Ernest P. Worrell (played by Jim Varney), a character who appeared in several comedies and later a few direct-to-video movies, but most us probably remember him from the countless The Coca-Cola Company's sodas, Chex, and Taco John's commercials. What you might not remember is that the character also starred in his own Saturday morning children series titled Hey Vern, It's Ernest, which only lasted for one season.

Filmed on a low-budget, the series starred Jim Varney as Ernest and a slew of other characters (Auntie Nelda, Dr. Otto, Sergeant Glory, Baby Ernest, and Astor Clement). Each episode consisted of a series of sketches that were all set around a specific theme, such as movies, sports, hobbies, etc..

The episodes on the single disc DVD are:

Revell; 352 pages; $15.99; Amazon

Now available from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, is the Christian romance novel Sandpiper Cove, book three in the Hope Harper series, by three-time Rita award winner Irene Hannon.

I wasn't really intrigued by the cover art when I first saw it. I have read a few other titles by the author, so that's about the only reason why I signed up to review this one.

The novel is set at the Oregon seaside village called Hope Harbor, and centers on police chief and single mom Lexie Graham. She doesn't have much time for anything else life has to offer, especially romance, which is the last thing on her mind. Of course this a romance, so her mind (and her heart) changes after she meets ex-con Adam Stone, who she later enlists to help a troubled young man.

Mill Creek Ent.; Rated R; 110 minutes;

Now available on Blu-ray from Mill Creek Entertainment is the 1986 Michael Mann produced action-drama Band Of The Hand. Directed by Paul Michael Glaser, the film stars Stephen Lang, Michael Carmine, Lauren Holly, John Cameron Mitchell, Danny Quinn, Leon, and Laurence Fishburne. There are no special features or bonus extras on the disc.

Band Of The Hand centers on five young felons, Ruben Pacecho (played by Michael Carmine), Moss Roosevelt (played by Leon Robinson), Carlos Aragon (played by Danny Quinn), James Lee "J.L." MacEwen (played by John Cameron Mitchell), and Dorcey Bridger (played by Al Shannon), who all get a second chance after being accepted into an experimental rehab program led by a Vietnam veteran named "Indian Joe" Tegra (played by Stephen Lang).

Tegra drags the five felons into the dangerous swamps and forces them to learn how to survive. Afterwards, they work together on restoring a vacant house in a bad neighborhood in Miami. This might all sound good at first, but their actions causes a war with the local drug kingpin named Cream (played by Laurence Fishburne).