Hiren Patel is an engineer from PDEU, Gandhinagar turned storyteller from Gujarat. His debut novel, Shadows of Smiles, draws from his observations of small-town dreams and big-city corporate battles filtered through the lens of values, late-night teas, and the quiet wisdom of the river. He writes about the spaces where ambition meets betrayal, and where kindness is mistaken for weakness. When not writing, Hiren explores books, human behaviour, and the stories people carry but never tell — firmly believing that every scar holds the seed of a story worth writing. He lives in Gandhinagar.