Modern History Press

Modern History Press is proud to announce that its latest fiction title Louisiana Catch by author and speaker Sweta Srivastava Vikram has been nominated for a Voices of the Year (VOTY) Award at BlogHer.

With its Women-Inspiring-Women mission, BlogHer is a women-centered movement of both the written and the spoken word by women from different walks of life. They honor women of extraordinary talent and inspirational potential at their annual BlogHer18 Creators Summit, taking place this year on the evening of August 8th at Pier 17 in New York City.

Sweta Srivastava Vikram’s previous books with Modern History Press have attracted attention for their female-empowerment themes. Her novel Louisiana Catch features an abuse survivor, Ahana, who is on a run from her dark past and finds an emotional sanctuary in an online support group.

How the Author Sees Her Work

What was the writing experience of this novel like?

There were some parts in Louisiana Catch that were easy and fun to write, especially the rapport between Ahana and Rohan Brady. But the part about marital rape and cat fishing were definitely emotionally draining and such strong reminders of the darkness in our society.

And how do you relate to the main character?

Ahana, the female protagonist, is very different from me. Yes, we are both South Asian women who are well educated and have strong careers. But Ahana is inherently dependent on others for emotional well-being and decision making and she is an introvert, quite the opposite of me. But we both do have a common agenda: raise awareness and join the fight to end violence against women.

Editorial Opinion from Modern History Press

Victor Volkman, Senior Editor at Modern History Press, opined:

“Louisiana Catch is a remarkable book on several fronts. Foremost, bringing the extremely difficult topic of recovery from marital rape to the mainstream conversation in America makes this book significant. It also excels at portraying Ahana as someone who happens to work in New York but was born in New Delhi: that she can be an immigrant, without being defined by that as her sole relevant characteristic is an important message for the readers of 2018. Last, it is the tale of a modern woman struggling mid-career whose number one priority is not romance, but love happens anyways despite her hard-earned wariness of the male sex.”