the novel originated from a novelette, "mikal's songbird", which appeared in "analog science fiction" in may 1978. the story concerns a young boy whose perfect singing voice had the power to amplify people's emotions. it is reprinted in card's short story collection "maps in a mirror". in addition to serving as the seed from which the novel was written, the original story is incorporated (with minor alterations) as the second section of the novel. card published a prequel to "mikal's songbird," entitled "songhouse" in the september 1979 issue of "analog", which explored ansset's training by esste before being turned over to mikal.