Change in the air

It looks like change is in the air. I for one am not sad to see these changes. The following was announced on the eharlequin site

From September 2006, Harlequin Romance and Silhouette Romance will cease publication due to declining retail presence globally. The new series will effectively replace these two series, and many of our existing HR and SR authors will continue to be published in the new series.
I say good. It's about time for the reasons I've highlighted below;

The New Romance Series is NOT:
Family and community focused
High on explicit sexual detail
Hero driven
About a woman who needs 'rescuing' by a man
Over -the -top or unrealistic
About a strong, dominant Alpha male
About ruthless and selfish women or naive and weak women
Small town mentality
Just North America
Over the top, larger than life characters and settings
Depressing or tragic
Cliched, cheesy
Unrealistic or paranormal

In my quest to publish with Harlequin I became a monthly silhouette romance book club member.
I can honestly say of all the books from said club I have truly enjoyed one. Yes one.
I recently cancelled that subscription.
The story lines were cheesy, the women were weak in mind and body. In fact the few that had potential with great premise were ruined by indecisive wimpy women and repetition in conflict. Let me assure you that by the third time the heroine has thought to herself that the hero could never want her- because she isn't good enough for a variety of reasons- even though he has kissed her, looked at her with lust in his eyes and takes cares of her useless self - I the reader get it! I don't need to read it a gajillion times more over the course of the book. Really I don't.

I want to read about strong women, the ones who in the face of adversity come out swinging. Women who are fully capable of recognizing signs of lust in a man and aren't adverse to taking advantage.
Women like Darcy Gallagher of Ardmore (Nora's jewel trilogy), FBI agent Alyssa Locke (Suzanne Brockmann's gone too far) or even Stephanie Plum bounty hunter (Janet Evanovich). Stephanie has some confidence issues when it comes to her men but all in all she's got balls!

No more indecisive ball-less women who apparently grew up in a convent because they can't function in a world that requires women to have a spine.

I am disappointed they won't have paranormal or Alpha Males and a good cry never hurt anyone but I think requiring more of the authors they publish is a good thing all around.
Don't you?