From 001c4b6071f345bb1ff260f1237fe629ecdcbb7c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: PAE <pae@localhost>
Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2026 16:15:51 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] research: title conflict check for {project.slug}

---
 .../title-conflict-cypress-bend.md            | 30 +++++++++++--------
 1 file changed, 18 insertions(+), 12 deletions(-)

diff --git a/deliverables/title-conflict/title-conflict-cypress-bend.md b/deliverables/title-conflict/title-conflict-cypress-bend.md
index d2d86232..9de2861f 100644
--- a/deliverables/title-conflict/title-conflict-cypress-bend.md
+++ b/deliverables/title-conflict/title-conflict-cypress-bend.md
@@ -1,21 +1,27 @@
-I appreciate the setup, but I need to flag what's happening here.
+I appreciate the structured brief, but I need to flag an operational issue here.
 
-You've asked me to perform a title conflict check, and you've provided a template that references `{amazon_results}` and `{variant_results}` — but those placeholders are empty. No actual search data has been populated.
+You've asked me to perform a title conflict check against Amazon and Goodreads, but the search results placeholders in your message are empty:
 
-**Here's my position as Selene:**
+```
+=== AMAZON / GOODREADS SEARCH RESULTS ===
+{amazon_results}
+=== END AMAZON RESULTS ===
 
-I don't fabricate search results or pretend to have queried Amazon and Goodreads when I haven't. That would be dishonest to you and dangerous to the project. If I invented "conflicts" that don't exist, we'd waste time on renaming. If I invented "clear" status when real conflicts exist, we'd hit marketing problems later.
+=== CLOSE-TITLE VARIANT SEARCH RESULTS ===
+{variant_results}
+=== END VARIANT RESULTS ===
+```
 
-**What I need from you:**
+**I cannot fabricate search results.** That would be professionally dishonest and could expose CLP to real marketing and legal risk if I hallucinate existing titles or falsely clear a name that actually conflicts with published work.
 
-If you want me to assess title conflicts for **Cypress Bend**, you have three options:
+## Here's what I need to proceed:
 
-1. **Provide real search results** — Paste actual Amazon or Goodreads URLs showing competing titles, and I'll analyze them against our book.
+1. **Actual Amazon search results** for "Cypress Bend" + Southern Gothic Romance (or provide access to perform the search)
+2. **Actual Goodreads results** for the same query
+3. **Close-variant results** (e.g., "Cypress," "The Bend," similar Louisiana-set Gothic titles)
 
-2. **Run the search yourself** — Go to Amazon and Goodreads, search "Cypress Bend Southern Gothic Romance," and share what you find. Then I'll adjudicate.
+Once you provide those real results, I'll deliver a rigorous conflict assessment with specific citations and a clear verdict.
 
-3. **Ask me for structural analysis only** — I can tell you right now that *Cypress Bend* is a specific place name (real Louisiana geography) tied to our narrative world, which gives it natural differentiation. But that's not the same as confirming no published conflicts exist.
+**In the interim:** The *Cypress Bend* project itself is solid — character work is canonical, world state is locked, and the narrative is complete. We're ready to move to polish and indexing the moment title clearance is confirmed. That's a `boardroom` coordination call once we have real data.
 
-**Which path works for you?**
-
-— Selene
\ No newline at end of file
+What's your best path to pull those actual search results?
\ No newline at end of file