Jennifer Iacopelli: Brainstorming with Hanson (yes, Hanson)

All I can say is once you read the first line of Jennifer Iacopelli's post here, you'll be going, "Uh huh, please go onnnn …" (Jennifer's new book, Game. Set. Match., came out this week.)

Jennifer: It all started with a '90s boy band and me naked ...

In the middle of August 2011, I was having a rock concert in my shower, when a song popped up I hadn't heard in a very long time.

Penny & Me by Hanson.

(Yes, Hanson. Those guys who sang Mmmbop. I can feel you judging me through the Internet. Stop it!)

As the song played and I unabashedly sang along, a girl popped into my head. Obviously, her name was Penny. She was 18 years old and a professional tennis player. I knew immediately this was one of those moments, so I stayed in the shower until the water got cold, and by the time I wrapped myself in a towel, I had a shockingly detailed picture of Penny and her world in my head.

That initial burst of inspiration was the easy part, but as I plotted and planned and scribbled, I found two other girls who quickly wormed their way into my heart. Indiana and Jasmine started out as secondary characters but began stealing scenes and demanding my attention. As soon as I let them have their share of the spotlight, the entire series started to gel. Plus, the best thing about writing a story with three different heroines? Three amazingly delicious boys to drive them crazy in the best ways possible.

I love each of my girls equally, but everyone else who reads Game. Set. Match. inevitably has a favorite. So far, readers have been pretty evenly divided between the girls, declaring themselves a member of Team Penny, Indy or Jasmine and remaining firmly encamped on that team for the rest of the story. There must be a sort of psych exam in there somewhere, but I've yet to figure out what the results mean!

I wonder whose team you'll be on?

Here's the blurb for Game. Set. Match.:

Nestled along the North Carolina coast, the Outer Banks Tennis Academy is the world's most elite training facility. Futures are forged in blood and sweat, and dreams are shattered in an instant.

Penny Harrison, a rising female star, is determined to win the French Open and beat her archrival, Zina Lutrova. But when her coach imports British bad boy Alex Russell as her new training partner, will Penny be able to keep her laser-like focus?

Tennis is all Jasmine Randazzo has ever known. The daughter of two Grand Slam champions, she's hell-bent on extending her family's legacy and writing her own happily-ever-after ... until her chosen Prince Charming gives her the just-friends speech right before the biggest junior tournament of the year, the Outer Banks Classic.

With a powerful serve and killer forehand, newcomer Indiana Gaffney is turning heads. She's thrilled by all of the attention, especially from Jack Harrison, Penny's agent and hot older brother, except he keeps backing off every time things start heating up.

With so much at stake, dreams — and hearts — are bound to break. Welcome to OBX: Where LOVE is a four-letter word, on and off the court.

To find out more about Jennifer and her books, you can visit her website, www.jenniferiacopelli.com. You can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter (@jennifercarolyn) and Goodreads.