SHORT BIO

K.B. Lyrik is a writer, poet, and illustrator specialising in epic fantasy and science fiction. With a background both in front of the camera and behind the scenes at iconic entertainment brands like Marvel, Lucasfilm, and Walt Disney Studios, Lyrik brings a unique blend of experience and passion to his craft as a storyteller. His pursuit of writing followed an interview to work with a leading producer from Steven Spielberg’s "Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” during which he shared the premise of his idea for a novel, immediately encouraged to quit his job and write it. He is currently finalising the first book in his enchanting series.

FULL BIO

Killian Bray Lyrik was born in Suffolk, England to an Algonquian-German father and English-Jamaican mother, with a distant heritage of Dutch and Irish. His rich ancestry traces back to the late 1500s in Britain and the late 1700s in the United States.

EARLY CHILDHOOD:

Regularly playing the lead in school plays from a young age inspired Lyrik to perform, and he joined a theatre company and took to the stage at the age of 9. He loved the movies of old Hollywood such as On the Town, Calamity Jane, Meet Me in St. Louis, and High Society. Early passions included drawing and writing poetry and short stories, with a particular interest in the written works of Lloyd Alexander, William Shakespeare, and C.S. Lewis, while inspired by the visual works of Walt Disney and George Lucas. He won a National Poetry Day competition at the age of 10 and would take commissions from classmates to draw their favourite cartoon characters for £1 per sketch. A turbulent childhood saw Lyrik move across 7 foster homes and 2 children's homes, at which time music and literature helped him survive. After high school, he studied music, photography, IT, and literature in college.

EARLY CAREER & HIGHER EDUCATION:

At the age of 18, he was encouraged to audition for the TV series Don’t Stop Believing and subsequently starred for the duration of the series, being his first professional audition and entertainment role. He then worked as a backing vocalist for One Direction, Take That, and JLS, and featured as a backing performer in season 7 of The X Factor for winner Matt Cardle and other live finalists throughout the live shows. As a TV extra, he worked on a 2012 Olympics campaign supporting the tennis player Andy Murray, then a men's health commercial for Manual. In 2011, Lyrik was approached by management for an upcoming boy band and successfully auditioned, being asked to join the lineup. He passed on the offer to work as an assistant cruise director and travelled the world at sea, performing weekly sets with a live band and occasionally singing in piano lounges in addition to his role supervising the onboard entertainment programs. The following year, boy band Triple J appeared on The X Factor as Union J, going on to find moderate chart success. 

Lyrik then worked as a choreographer for production shows in Europe. When starring in gospel TV series Time to Shine, judge Angel Taylor of Trin-i-tee 5:7 complimented his performance as "the most professional" of the series. After studying English Literature at university, he moved to London in England and made a return to the music industry as a personal assistant. At this time, he worked closely with record label executives and artists including Rihanna, Sam Smith, Mick Jagger, Mark Ronson, Calvin Harris, Avicii, David Guetta, Florence & the Machine, Lighthouse Family, Mumford & Sons, Daniel Merriweather, The Corrs, Stargate, and Geri Halliwell-Horner. Lyrik has performed live at venues such as Disneyland Paris, Roundhouse London, Hardrock Fiji, Manchester Pride, Guildhall Portsmouth, and others worldwide. During his many years in London, Lyrik moved from music into the film industry and worked as an executive assistant for leading brands such as Disney, NBC, and Fox (pre-Disney merger). During an interview to work for an animation director and producer, Lyrik disclosed his interest in pursuing a career as an author, sharing his idea for a novel. He was encouraged to leave his job and start working on the book. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, he did just that, as well as studying 3D animation.

PRESENT DAY:

Lyrik is currently working on a pentalogy in the epic fantasy genre, loosely inspired by Lloyd Alexander's 'Book of Three', Frank L. Baum's 'Books of Oz', and Ursula Le Guin's 'Books of Earthsea.'