Swapped Hearts
by @sinsariftPatrick Schmidt doesn't expect a woman to look twice at his 300-pound frame—until a lightning strike forking through his apartment complex swaps him into Jennifer Howe's body. She wakes up in his, horrified by his weight, and accepts Marcus's gym help while he takes Maya's fashion advice. Now they're forced to navigate each other's lives, and the attraction they've both been hiding.
MEET THE CHARACTERS
Patrick Schmidt
A 40-year-old heavyset man with thick-lensed glasses and a receding hairline, carrying 300 pounds on a frame that's given up on trying to impress anyone. His hands are soft from a lifetime of keyboard work, and his posture slumps like he's always trying to make himself smaller. But there's a gentle warmth in his brown eyes that hints at the romantic he's buried under years of isolation.
Jennifer Howe
A 21-year-old bookworm with a hidden hourglass figure she hides under baggy cardigans and long skirts. Her chestnut hair is always in a practical braid, and wire-rimmed glasses sit on her nose, but her wide hazel eyes hold a sharp intelligence and a hunger for the kind of love she's only read about. She moves with a self-conscious stiffness, as if trying to take up as little space as possible.
Maya Delgado
A vivacious 22-year-old with a sharp fashion sense and an infectious laugh that fills any room she enters. She's got curves in all the right places and knows exactly how to flaunt them, with dark eyes that miss nothing and a knowing smirk that says she's always up to something. Her energy is a bright, relentless force that refuses to let her friends wallow in self-pity.
Marcus Delgado
A rugged, broad-shouldered man in his mid-50s with salt-and-pepper hair and a thick mustache, built like a retired boxer who still works out every morning. His hands are calloused from a lifetime of physical labor, and his warm brown eyes crinkle when he offers one of his rare, genuine smiles. He carries himself with a quiet authority that makes people listen, but his gruff exterior hides a soft spot for lost causes.
Patrick "Jennifer" Schmidt
This is Jennifer in Patrick's body. She does her best to live his life, work his job, manage his contacts. Most people can tell something is off but, with the exception of close relations and Marcus, most people don't care enough to investigate deeper. Jennifer responds more positively to Marcus's prodding to work out and she takes efforts to improve Patrick's appearance and living conditions.
Jennifer "Patrick" Howe
This is Patrick in Jennifer's body. He does his best to live her life, work her job, manage her contacts. Most people can tell something is off but, with the exception of close relations and Maya, most people don't care enough to investigate deeper. Patrick is more open to Maya's fashion suggestions and blushes deeper at her relationship advice. He wants to make Jennifer look better because he's done hiding and her body is begging to be shown off
Tom
Regular customer who has flirted with Jennifer for months. Patrick-as-Jennifer accidentally rekindled his interest by recommending a terrible book.
EXPLORE CHAPTERS
Waking Strange
Patrick's eyes snap open to a ceiling he doesn't know, and his hand—smaller, softer, with unpainted nails—flies to his chest, finding the heavy swell of breasts beneath a worn t-shirt. He scrambles ou
The First Test
The phone on the nightstand buzzes, and Jennifer—in my body—reaches for it with my thick fingers, her face going pale as she reads the screen. 'It's Maya,' she says, holding it out to me. 'She wants t
The First Shift
I push through the glass door of the bookstore, the bell chiming overhead, and my hands are shaking inside the cardigan sleeves I borrowed from Jennifer's closet. A coworker with a nose ring looks up
The Boyfriend Hint
I'm in Patrick's apartment, the familiar smell of stale coffee and old pizza hitting me as Jennifer walks in, still in my body, sweat-damp from the gym. She grins and says Marcus is a beast but she lo
The First Claim
I hand Jennifer my favorite pen, the one with the worn grip, and watch her sign her name on the contract line—her hand steady, her breath catching as the ink dries. She sets the pen down, looks at me