Creativity is intelligence having fun.
- Albert Einstein
Fairy Boss Mother. Mermaid Mogul. Creative Cheerleader.
Laura von Holt is a captivating voice for women of all ages, and works to harness self-expression and goal-setting, all while battling the patriarchy and other oppressive forces, like self-doubt! Laura is an expert in the arena because she has followed a life of passion. Whether she is writing plays that earn her top marks by the New York Times, or wild romance novels, she is a beacon to follow – which is easy to do because she leaves a trail of glitter behind her.
Laura von Holt is an author, podcast host, and creative coach. Her innovative personality and brand have been an inspiration to hundreds of artists living in NYC. She hosts several podcasts that cover topics from mythology (The Mermaid Podcast), to astrology and cult celebrity (Astrology Zoned: a Susan Miller Fan Podcast), to pep talks for creative pitfalls (You’re Doing Great). Laura is a Certified Trainer in CIJ: The Clarity Catalyst Course, a proven, state-of-the-art methodology taken from the Stanford University Master’s Degree Course “Creativity in Business,” which has revolutionized the art of success. She is well known for her speaking series “Don’t Quit Your Day Dream!” and has been featured at SXSW and Seriesfest.
“Be relentlessly you.”
- Lady Gaga
Professional Experience
Laura von Holt is a writer, performer, podcast host, and creativity coach from Hawai’i who lives in New York.
Laura specializes in publishing, performance, and broadcasting. A self-styled “mermaid mogul,” she writes award-winning romance novels under the name Laura Lovely, hosts three podcasts, and is a graduate of Weeki Wachee Springs Sirens of the Deep mermaid camp. Laura writes paranormal romances about mermaids, romantic comedies that meld folklore with pop-culture, and speculative fiction about the dark side of fairytales. She is also a Pulitzer-contender and New York Times Critic’s Pick playwright.
As a lifelong champion for self-expression, Laura made the natural leap to coaching others in their own creative ambitions. Through her work with the CIJ: The Clarity Catalyst Course, which is based on the Stanford Graduate School’s program “Creativity in Business,” Laura teaches people how to apply their creativity to challenges in their personal and professional lives. Laura is a certified Master Trainer for CIJ and completed the official training with Jennifer Grace.
Laura’s work has been featured in The New York Times, Daily Mail, The Huffington Post, Redbook, Current TV, and Jezebel.
Past accomplishments:
In her varied career, Laura has co-founded several organizations.
For many years, Laura was best known as her alter ego, von Hottie, a pinup performance artist and self-confidence guru who produced a niche pinup calendar, advice blog, and apparel.
Laura was a producer with several off-Broadway theater companies, one of which produced her critically-acclaimed first play, GIANTS. In 2007, Laura co-founded Little Lord, an experimental theater company. She collaborated on eleven original pieces for the theater, which garnered award nominations for performance and playwriting, and several New York Times Critic’s Picks. She is on hiatus from running the company but hopes to return to the theater in the future.
Laura is the sparkly half of the aerial comedy duo, “Flaming Mermaid Broken Star,” where she created, produced, and performed in long-form comedic skits and circus acts with internationally accomplished aerialist and author, Erin Clark. Laura and Erin are currently writing a rom-com for Audible and hope that when the pandemic is over, they can turn their book tour into a circus show.
With her long-time collaborator, Luke Stoffel, Laura expanded her entrepreneurial prowess to co-found Cinderly, a media giant for the self-spirited millennial unicorn, named a “startup to watch” in 2015. Cinderly developed one of the first personal style apps, which blended Instagram-style fashion selfies, advanced sorting capabilities, and confidence-building social features. Cinderly remains as a comprehensive content-marketing schematic dedicated to whimsy, including a blog, a YouTube Series called “Founder Friday”, The Mermaid Podcast, The Unicorn Cookbook (voted Best Children’s Cookbook of 2018), and a branding workshop for creative entrepreneurs. Luke and Laura still hope that the reality show pilot they filmed will be picked up and make them really famous.
Along with six authors (and badass businesswomen), Laura founded HBIC Nation, a community and podcast for authors, which continues as a supportive Facebook group and a tight friend circle.