An Update on my Next Series

Jen Kirchner· March 15, 2026· [general, jens-books]

Hello everyone!

It's been a minute since I've posted an update on my next book. I’ve given you little hints, but it’s definitely time for a full update. I'm working on a spinoff trilogy set in the Kari Hunter universe. The stories take place in the newest Immortal State tourist trap in Listowel, Ontario. If you’ve read the Kari Hunter series so far, you may recall that this is where the voodoo cult had been hiding out for a century or more. The cult is gone… but they’ve left a lot of deadly paraphernalia behind.

When I first started thinking about this series and who our hero might be, I knew that I wanted them to be someone with a compelling mission. An interesting backstory. After posing a few questions to myself, I thought, “What if they were trying to solve their own murder?” I was immediately hooked. I knew I had to write their story.

The story follows Mara Ballerini, an immortal introduced briefly in Kari Hunter book 3, The Dark Door. Yes, this is the woman that Kari’s cousin and band leader, Brad Kasen, is hopelessly in love with.

Mara is determined to put all her focus into searching for her almost-killer, a mysterious immortal who used the dead cult’s magic on Mara and turned her immortal. Of course, Mara gets completely derailed only ten minutes after she parks her car in the conservator visitor’s spot. She’s pulled into a bizarre plot—someone is searching for very specific enchanted items that were left behind by the voodoo cult, and the dead bodies are piling up.

And it wouldn’t be a good comedy unless we threw Brad Kasen in there for funsies and romance. Mara was not expecting to see Brad. Brad was not expecting Mara to catch him there so soon. He’s not a stalker, honest.

On the “unpredictable” scale, I put Mara somewhere between Kari Hunter and Charlie Temple from the Interns series. Her problem-solving method is something nobody can predict.

As Mara might put it... Mara didn’t think she was dramatic. She considered herself “assertive with flair.” :D

The first book is currently going through edits, and I’m writing book two. Fingers crossed that you’ll see book one this year. We’re also planning on audiobooks for the whole trilogy.

I’ll have more updates for you soon. Stay tuned!

Until next time,

Jen