Trivia / Crystal Singer

• Location Theme Naming: Many characters and planets in the trilogy are named after various Irish locations. The greatest example is Killashandra herself, named for the tiny town of Killashandra (Cill na Seanrátha in Irish) in County Cavan.
• Write What You Know: Anne McCaffrey herself studied voice for nine years and was devastated to learn that a flaw in her vocal range would condemn her to choral work and that she could never be the soloist she dreamed of becoming. Unable to resign herself to lesser work, she gave up professional music entirely and became a writer. One can even read Killashandra's new profession as a Crystal Singer as analogous to McCaffrey's career as a writer: forced to give up the dream she loved and wanted, she instead discovered the work that made her immortal.
  • Killashandra could also be seen as a Take That! to McCaffrey's lost musical career: the flaw in her voice that makes her unsuited for one kind of singing makes her perfect for another, very different kind of singing—one that comes with the much-better perks of intergalactic fame and respect, enormous wealth, and immortality. Killashandra even muses that she's had a far longer and more prestigious career as a Crystal Singer than she ever would have had as a soloist.