The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe

Ladies, rev those engines. Can you help?!

Hello, friends! (And hello to the new people this week).

How are you? And what’s going on in your world?

Mine is a little on the wild side, not gonna lie. It’s time to put this Catherine Greer Author show on the road, when mostly I enjoy having a quiet lunch with a girlfriend or making a beautiful family dinner on a Sunday.

But. But!

My new book, THE BITTERSWEET BAKERY CAFE, is really good. I knew it was, because I wrote it for me and I loved and needed every word. I wrote it because I needed more:

  • Grit

  • Self-belief

  • Joy

And of course, you know me by now: I figure out what the heck is going on in my mind by writing about it. So I wrote THE BITTERSWEET BAKERY CAFE for myself, and I love it with my whole heart.

It’s about a woman who learns to fall in love with herself, in the middle of her life.

It’s inspiring, funny, beautifully-written yet easy to read, FUNNY, warm and big-hearted.

And it needs a chance now out in the world, and the way to do that is pre-orders and sales. And reviews and word of mouth.

And I’d love to ask you to help me, if you can. Here are 6 options, and you can pick whatever combination works for you:

  1. Buy a book and review it, or give it 5-stars if you love it.

  2. Gift one to a friend (or a few, if you can).

  3. Library - If you can’t buy it (or even if you can) please ask your library to order it in.

  4. Tell your friends about it, and that you know me.

  5. Share a picture of it on your socials, if you don’t mind. (It’s getting a beautiful groundswell in Australia with midlife women who are falling in love with it! So you can trust it’s good)

  6. Text a link or photo to a friend - it’s an impulse purchase, and I love receiving a text with a link to a bookshop or retailer so it’s easy to buy. This is a great way to share.

  7. Your bookclub - could it be a bookclub book for you? I can attend by zoom or in real life in Sydney.

Debut authors don’t get a huge marketing budget or a lot of help from the publisher, so it’s up to us to sell enough books that we can keep writing. You only get another chance if your book sells.

So thank you for your support. Now’s the time, and the links are below.

Next week, I’ll be back with fun inspo to make your day a little brighter. But for now, it’s true that I really do need you — and would love your support. So if you can generously share your recommendation, a photo, the links or an actual book (or many books, if you can), that would be amazing.

Thank you, thank you.

Love Catherine x

P.S. If you’d like to help launch The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe today!

Sunday Pick-Me-Ups

Hello and happy weekend!

Wherever you are, I hope you have a weekend filled with all the right kind of love: rest and peace, a little treat and time to daydream the best thoughts about your life.

Here in Sydney, the air is so unbelievably crisp and lovely in the mornings…and the new season coming soon makes me feel like turning over a new leaf.

This month, I think it’s time to surprise myself.

Are you with me?

I’m just doing a few silly little things….like this unexpected nail polish colour yesterday. Because…WHY NOT? Why not surprise ourselves a little?

  1. Make your brekkie different than your usual. Try a new coffee?

  2. Go a little wild with the fingers or toenails.

  3. Pick up a book that’s not normally your thing.

  4. Do a little room fakeover, not a makeover: rearrange a few things and see how you like it.

  5. Part your hair in the middle, on the side, on another side.

  6. Avoid and replace your usual morning routine: get out of bed and stick your head outside and breathe that air, first thing.

  7. Shake. It. Up. (Whatever this means for you).

Our brains love novelty; it makes us feel more alive. This week, that’s what I’m going to try…and I hope you join me.

Love Catherine xx

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

A To-Do List for This Week (not kidding!)

Hi everyone,

It’s Catherine Greer writing to you, Canadian-Australian author and copywriter, lover of little dogs, not a fan of painting. You’re receiving this newsletter because you signed up possibly via one of my books. THANK YOU for being here every Sunday.

This week…I have a To Do List for all of us.

Ready?

Going back to basics always works.

We know this, but sometimes it’s very hard to get back there. If that’s you (or me), we already know that numbers 1 and 7 are the most important, with the quickest results.

I hope you have an unexpectedly AMAZING week ahead, with good news popping up that you never saw coming.

Love, Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

  • Up first, book launch info! Do you live in or around Melbourne? Want to meet up? I’ll be at the amazing Castlemaine Fringe Festival on Saturday 22 March. Tickets are here.

  • Do you live in or around Sydney? If you and a plus one would like to attend my book launch on 16 March, email me (Free event, with books available).

  • In Australia, you can preorder The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe here. (Still only in Australia! Hang on…getting there for our overseas readers!)

  • This salad is happening tonight for dinner. Oh…wow.

  • A foot peel that works (maybe too well)?? Here it is, at an amazing price. Made in Japan, and wow! Okay, you will do this for 60 minutes and think…nothing has happened. Then weirdly, a week later you will shed all your foot skin like a snake. And you’ll be left with the softest feet imaginable. But trust me…I’m not lying about the “one week later ALL your skin will shed.” It’s messy, but worth it.

  • Going a little bit country today. Can’t beat this one…

A Little Big Magic

Hi friends,

I’m writing to you very quickly in the middle of a busy weekend. I’m attending a creativity workshop given by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of many books, including the wonderful Big Magic.

Here’s a very quick shot of Sydney Town Hall above, and of the workshop below. There are around 1,000 of us attending, so the energy has been massive.

I’ll share more when I’ve had time to digest, but until then…if I had to choose a favourite Liz Gilbert quote, it would probably be this.

If you’re feeling a little wobbly or unsure about all you have on your plate, it might be time to look at your life this way.

The impossible decision you made? Maybe you did it right. Maybe you should simply trust yourself to move forward and figure things out. And if it all doesn’t seem as perfect as you’d like, maybe that’s okay, too.

We’re here and we’re learning. How are we supposed to do anything other than put one foot in front of the other, and see where we land?

Enjoy your weekend, everyone. I hope you have a brilliant rest.

Love, Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

Have a beautiful Sunday

Hi friends, and hello to the new people. You’re receiving this email because you signed up for it after reading one of my books or visiting my author’s website. I’m Catherine Greer, writer and mother, Canadian-Australian living in Sydney with my family. I’m happy that you’re here!

This week I have a few updates for you, and I wanted to share a huge lightbullb moment for me. When life is tricky, I often have a tendency to wish things were different.

Have you ever done this?

The problem with doing this is that it actually results in intensifying our suffering. All the woulda shoulda couldas make me feel angry at life (or people, including myself), or hopeless and exhausted and trapped in my own brain.

It’s hard to look for solutions when we’re suffering.

Here’s the trick. Say this to yourself.

No matter what has happened before this moment, we’re here now.

No matter who has done (or not done) something, we’re here now.

No matter what we’re expected to face, we’re here now.

So what’s next?

I hope this little phrase helps you as much as it’s helped me this week. Even now, I’m spending my day writing an article for The Sydney Morning Herald Sunday Life Magazine today to promote my new book…and I’d really rather be doing some serious relaxing. But I’m here now, so what next?

It’s time to begin.

Enjoy your Sunday! I’ll see you next week.

Love Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

  • Aussie Blue Swimmer Crabs in my local fish shop. They’re so beautiful that I snapped a photo! I don’t have the heart to clean or cook them, but here’s how if you want to watch. (If you’re an animal-lover, you may want to skip this one, but if you’re a foodie, you’ll probably love it.)

  • Here’s what my publisher is saying about my new book, The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe!

  • Preorders - best price is on Amazon. Even better will be BigW (coming soon - it’s the biggest book retailer in Australia, believe it or not.) If you’re in Canada, America, The UK and elsewhere…stay tuned for info!

  • Take one moment to read “Invitation” by Mary Oliver. You’ll understand this poem, I promise.

The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe proof is here!

Hello, my friends. It’s time for an update about all the things. Wish you were here to have coffee with me at my kitchen table. If you were, I’d hand over the Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of my new book, launching in March 2025.

The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe is looking fabulous and I’m so happy with the cover design. Last weekend I had a virtual meeting with my Reading Team and I filled them in on the behind-the-scenes so they’d have the first look at the cover. (Thank you, thank you! Loved meeting up with you!)

Here’s one more peek at the final cover for you. The designer and publisher were aiming for something that pops online, with strong typography and a modern feel.

This one will hit the shelves on 4 March, so that’s just 90 days away! I’m excited about everything that’s to come.

  • We’re finding the right actor for the audio book — hooray!

  • We’re planning the marketing and PR activities!

  • The final version was sent to print on Friday!

Here’s what you’ll find inside: laughter and sorrow and wildly unique people, Aussies and a gorgeous white sand beach village, a woman’s struggles to find her new home, a bit of DIY on a beautiful but dilapidated apartment, a mouthy teen who needs some love, a little hint of romance, shocking betrayals, new friends, a midlife reinvention and more.

The more is…my favourite family recipes are included in my beautiful book. All the cakes I make and love, and quite a few extra treats, too. We’ll talk again in upcoming months…I’ll let you know about pre-orders and how you can get a copy. Thank you for being excited for me.

But now, over to you…

the holidays are coming!

How are you doing in your holiday prep?

I am behind! Too behind! But the tree is up, a few gifts are wrapped, and I’ve done a bit of shopping online this year. I’m truly looking forward to a break from work, and time to relax with family and friends.

This week I read something beautiful about women:

It’s true.

Holidays are absolutely a labour of love, and women stand at the centre. Spokes in the wheel, the strength and the planning and the getting people places — this is what we do. It’s who we are.

Over upcoming weeks, I promise to give you a few hints and tips that I use to bring the joy at holiday time…with the hope that I can make your load a little lighter, too.

As always, I’m wishing you a beautiful weekend. If no one has asked you yet today, how are you (really)? And if you need comfort or joy, I hope you find it in the simple things:

  • Step outside for a walk

  • Light a Christmas candle

  • Put your feet up and rest a while

Love, Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

We Are Not Invisible Women

Hello, my friends from around the world. This morning, I wish all of us were in my kitchen together (but we wouldn’t fit, we’d need a huge hall!) I have something to say to you, to my own brain, and it’s this.

We’re growing older, and we are not invisible women.

All the parts of ourselves that are changing are not meant to be criticised and judged.

The arms.

The neck.

The tummy.

We’re not meat packages laid side by side in a grocery store for comment and choosing. I like this bit. This one looks too fatty. Yes to her. No to me.

And we are not invisible.

Our arms are made for holding. Our older teeth and mouth wrinkles are for laughing. Our throats are there to swallow down the disappointments of life and then buck up to help the people we’ve been given to love.

You know this. I know this.

We are not invisible. Not to ourselves, and not to our friends. Certainly not to the people we love.

I am tired of society telling older women we don’t matter, and that we have to look young to look good. I’m tired of women our age who swallow and believe the lie.

I don’t want to pick myself apart, piece by piece. (I don’t want you to do that, either.) I want us to love, fully and deeply, and matter and work and create and build and hope and hold tight to the sails while our people learn to whoosh across oceans…and grow older and wiser themselves.

So today, please take a moment to appreciate you.

  • What have you learned? That everything is survivable.

  • What have you done? Tried — no matter the obstacle.

  • What will you do now? Love and love and love.

People are starting to ask me what my new book is about. And it’s about this: a woman who is sick and tired of people acting like she’s invisible. So she stands up and fights back with humour and joy and love…and baking.

Hugs to all of you, all over the world. Australia. Canada. Sweden. Germany. England, Scotland, Ireland, Norway, Mexico, Taiwan, Singapore, Portugal, Japan, Barbados, India, Italy, the Channel Islands and America. This is what’s coming for you in 2025 (in some places, via Kindle only). The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe. And I hope you love it. But even if people don’t, I love it. And I’ve worked so hard to bring it into the world.

And on I go, like you do.

Growing older, falling down and standing again.

Because we are not invisible.

Love, Catherine xx

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

  • Do you see the size of this proofread? My Reading Team has been helping me fill out a survey so I understand where and how you buy books. Thank you to my beautiful team!

  • These slides are the best. You know how slides always flop around and slap the back of your feet, even Nike and Adidas ones? These don’t. So good! And you’re getting them half off. Run! Great for Aussie Christmas gifts for the girlsssssss. M=size 8/9 and S=6-7

  • This amazing Aussie female athlete is my son’s girlfriend. She’s an Aussie-Mexican boxer (and Dental Assistant) and is trying to build her Instagram audience to gain sponsorship for her sport. Can you help with a follow? She’s asked for my help, so I’m asking for yours. Thank you!

  • This spot in downtown Sydney is the most beautiful. Take a peek!

  • If my message today has resonated with you, please share this newsletter with a woman who needs to hear it. Thank you. I appreciate you.

Hey, hello Sunday!

Hey, hello my friends! Happy Sunday. To all the new people, a special welcome: I’m Catherine Greer, author of books, mum of a shih tzu puppy and two young adult sons, Canadian living in Sydney, full time copywriter in the corporate world…and lover of baking!

Every Sunday I get up super early (before my family) and sit in my favourite chair with my favourite pink coffee mug and write to you guys.

I love this!

I love it so much!

I’m good at being reliable, and I love this newsletter where I get to send out a positive message to so many women around the world. I imagine all of you pausing at some time during your weekend, knowing that you’re going to get a little hit of good news or encouragement when you hear from me.

For the new people, here’s an example. I heard a phrase this week that was so helpful. When we need to ask someone for help, either in work or in our personal lives, an interesting, easy way to do it is this:

What’s the chance that you could…walk the dog? Throw on a load of laundry? Make dinner tonight? Read my report before tomorrow? Such a beautiful way to ask! These are the little things I learn that I love to share with you every week. 🩷

But here’s the thing. Now I need YOUR help…because I’m struggling with social media. Let me tell you why. I have a new book coming out in March 2025. Look! The pages have now been typeset and I am SO EXCITED.

Gulp! I’ve been asked to “build my social media following.” You guys…I’m an ordinary person and I don’t know how interesting my life is!

I want to share what’s valuable for other women. And I don’t want to jump up and down and pretend that I’m a big deal.

So here’s my ask:

  1. If you have ANY tips for me (some of you are amazing at social media), please let me know.

  2. What’s the chance that you could…follow me on Instagram? 😉 Thank you!

  3. Either now or if you have a favourite Sunday message, could you please share / forward this newsletter to a friend or sister who might like it?

Thank you so much for your advice!

I appreciate you helping me…and I am so glad we’re here, in this life together, figuring out how to enjoy it despite the ups and downs.

Love Catherine

P.S. The Fun Stuff!

Want to be on my Reading Team? 🧁🩷

Hey, hello! And happy Sunday! I’m dropping in this morning with a quick update. How are you doing? And if no one has asked you yet today, how are you really?

I’m gearing up to get painting again. Not the fun kind, the home improvement kind! And I’m nearing the final copyedits on THE BITTERSWEET BAKERY CAFE. Yay! I make myself laugh every time I read it, but also if I’m honest, I am SO HOPING all of you will love this one as much as I do.

The book opens here—at the Sydney Opera House at dawn.

Publication date is 4 March 2025. You can expect laughs and fun and recipes, too…and a smart and sassy story set in Sydney, Australia and the South Coast of New South Wales. 🩷

Here’s an invitation for you all

So here it is: a beautiful invitation for those of you who are interested…soon I’ll be setting up my Reading Team, and I’d love to invite you to join.

What is a Reading Team?

  • Amazing people who are interested in receiving a package of goodies related to an author’s book, including an ARC (an Advance Reader Copy).

What do people on your Reading Team do?

As part of a Reading Team, you’ll do three things.

  1. Read the book early — that means before launch date on 4 March.

  2. Write a review — easiest place is Amazon and I can help with the tech, if this feels tricky for you.

  3. Post a photo on social media — and / OR tell your friends about the book, or gift a copy to a friend. (I know that not all of you are on social media, and that’s totally okay.)

That’s it. You can be from any country at all, but note the packages will differ a little bit because I’m not sure yet about the budget and postage.

Are you interested?

Email me here if you’d like to be on my Reading Team! There’s no commitment at this point, but I’d like to cap my Reading Team at around 25 spots.

Happy Sunday, everyone. And here’s a big huge hug and thanks for your ongoing support.

Love, Catherine x

P.S. The Fun Stuff!


Come Over for Coffee...

Hi my friends, and hello to all the new faces around here. Wish you could come over for a coffee at my house in wintery Sydney! It’s time for a quick intro and a photo, so all the new people see who’s writing to them.

You’ve signed up for this Sunday newsletter from me, Catherine Greer, Canadian-Australian, author and mother, wife and small dog lover. I let my hair go grey at 49, which was a bit radical at the time. I love shiny stuff (fun rings, pretty dishes, crystal glassware) and I’m so glad YOU are here today.

How has your week been? How are you really?

I’ve been uneven.

That’s to say: my workout and weights routine has gone haywire, I haven’t been as consistent with walking, and I’m feeling a bit like I’m on the downward slide.

When my life gets like this, three crazy things help me. So simple that they’re embarrassing. Are you ready?

  1. I take a sec to do my hair — wash and blow dry.

  2. I make everything smell beautiful (scented candles, perfume, the nice body lotion on my hands, legs and feet).

  3. I get outside in nature (a bushwalk, not the city streets).

And I remind myself of this. Take a breather, Catherine. Consider what really matters. Because as soon as I get stressed, my stress is what flows out of me. I get short with my family. I think too much about myself, my own worries and concerns. I ruminate. I worry until I tire myself out. And then…I speak unkindly to the people who matter most—to the people I’ve been given to love.

Because this is true:

Just for today, I’m going to be full of LOVE.

I have a Sunday to enjoy, and people all around me in this house and suburb and city who could use a little lightheartedness. It’s time to speak some FUN. To speak some joy. To be more encouraging to myself and everyone else.

I’m going to give that a whirl and see where takes me. I hope you have a beautiful Sunday, too.

Love Catherine x

P.S. The fun stuff!

  • The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe is coming in March 2025. If you love to read for joy, and if you want a book that makes you feel good and have a laugh and see what it’s like to live in Australia, this one’s for you.

  • Breathtaking! Do you also love white sand beaches?

  • If you can’t sleep, here’s my favourite free meditation. This one works for me! 14 minutes.

  • Love this cute travel outfit.

  • The most wonderful Aussie cookbook. Easy, practical recipes. Everything is good. So worth it!