Interview with Lui Petri
What is your newest/upcoming release? Tell us about the book.
My newest and first release is the first of a series of books called the Earth Warriors series. This is the first part called The Four Heroes of Peace, and it’s about Earth being under siege by a darwinist empire who want to start a galactic-wide culling in order to to preserve the “strongest” species for evolution, and it’s up to four heroes, three humans and an alien, to put a stop at not just them, but also the sins and flaws of humanity, ones that had the galactic community deemed as a lost cause. The book is one I can call both a tribute and also a statement of the dangers of division and prejudice, something I feels is rarely tackled with alien invasion stories.
What were your main inspirations in writing Earth Warriors: The Four Heroes of Peace?
The main inspirations for my book are mainly on both western and Japanese pop-culture. For the former, the inspiration is by using the archetypes and aesthetics that’s known from the Space opera genre inspired by Star Wars, plus the alien invasion type in the style of War of the Worlds and Independence Day, which is a guilty pleasure if I may say so. It’s a blend of both the fantastical aesthetics and powers from the former and the realism and grounded setting of the latter two.
For the Japanese pop-culture, it’s a mixture of anime that I’ve watched in my childhood, teenagehood and adulthood, up including Naruto, My Hero Academia, Ghost in the Shell, etc. It’s also influenced by the live-action tokusatsu genre, which is what led to the Power Rangers that’s known in the west, but in Japan, it was known as Super Sentai, and also has dashes of lone heroes like Kamen Rider. Lastly, it also has some influence from Japanese games like the Dynasty Warriors series in the sense of getting heroes to fight together against hordes of foes and some development of relationships too, plus the Ace Combat series in portraying how the battles are fought in modern combat with banter present in many ways.
Can you tell us a little bit about your writing process?
When it came to writing this novel, my writing process varies between trying to think scenes from the top of my head and see what can stick out and work well, which is affects how long the dialogues are. The other time is when I get stuck, I sometimes tend to watch scenes from games, movies, tv shows, anime and try to get inspiration from them without directly copying every action and flow beat by beat, so I try to write by maintaining my essence. In addition, given the multitude of other ethnicities and genders, I also try write them in a way that’s not offensive yet also not patronizing to the groups in question, sometimes I give feedback to the groups in question to see if the portrayal and writing of the characters are done well or not, and I apply it back to the characters.
Thank you, Lui, for joining us today and sharing some about your writing. Now let’s take a look at his book!
Excerpt
“Ugh, my head. Hey, are you OK, man?” Logan says as he tries to approach him.
Suddenly, Seiner shoves his hand away.
“Don’t touch me; you could have me and the rest killed,” Seiner replies coldly.
“Hey, it was just an accident!” Logan protests.
“Accident or not, we would have been dead already for that clumsiness of yours. Now, out of the way.”
“No, no, no, no, no! Don’t argue now! Just don’t! In fact, don’t you see there is danger around us right now? And who do you think you are, some sort of edgy bad guy?” Tania says, aiming her words towards Seiner.
“Who are you calling edgy, cranio-rectal idiot?” Seiner retorts.
“Look, does it look like the time to argue in the middle of a war?” Logan asks.
“Why do you rush to death when you’re not even thinking?” Seiner barks.
“Cut it out, or else I’ll sing the Old MacDonald to you all!” Tania shouts back.
Seiner turns toward her. “What the hell are you blabbering on about? Are you dense or something?”
Amira trembles for a moment, stepping back from them. She’s crawling back, on the verge of tears, almost whimpering in fear.
Oh, by the Guardians, they will kill me, right? Maybe Varris was right . . .
The three of them notice her and stop arguing, all to stare at her in confusion yet awe.
“Don’t move, you xeno—” Seiner says as he glances at Amira with protruding eyes.
“Oh, I just found a goodie-looking being! Uh, did I say it right?” Tania says as she gasps at Amira.
“Please, Don’t-t-t hurt-t-t-t me, dear h-h-humans . . .” Amira stutters nervously.
“She can speak to us?” Seiner asks as he widens his eyes.
She’s about to get up, but the strain is too much for her. She i too weak from both running endlessly and the fear of facing the wolf.
“I think we can get a few words out of her and know what the hell is going on with those aliens out there,” Seiner says as he gets up to approach Amira. However, Logan blocks Seiner with his arm.
“What the—?” Seiner says.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to jump to conclusions just yet. I can tell she’s different from them,” Logan says.
“How the bloody hell do you know?”
“Cause I know what they look like. And while some of her facial features are similar, she looks very distinct.”
“Oh, maybe we feel safely safe, right?” Tania asks, smiling, looking for a shred of hope for the well-being of herself and the rest.
“I still don’t trust her; out of the way or else.”
“Stop it! I know why you can’t trust her now. I’m not sure if I can too, but to keep ourselves closed off won’t lead us anywhere. We have to try or else,” Logan says as he steps beside Tania, shielding her from Seiner. He notices Amira as she moves away from them.
He saunters to the trembling Amira, who stops as she notices the young teacher’s interest, tenderness even.
But even with his newfound sympathy for her, Logan slinks toward Amira. His arms and legs feel tense, his hands are shaking and he almost steps back from her. He glances back to the other two, who look at him with frowns or even wide consternation.
After a moment of reluctance, he steps forward, almost feeling ready to meet the alien.
“No . . . no,” Amira whispers, with puffy, wide eyes.
Logan extends his hand toward her. “There, there, don’t be scared.”
Amira hesitates at first.
“Calm down. I’m sorry for what you saw. Whatever you are, the thing is that these aliens kinda messed things up, OK?” Logan says.
“A-aliens?” Amira whispers again.
“I can try to explain. Just maybe,” Logan says sheepishly.
As he stands still, Seiner prepares to hurl a handful of stones toward her in case she does something suspicious.
A miracle happens.
The alien grabs Logan’s hand.
She feels the warmth in the hand. She’d always wanted to know what humans felt like.
She smiles through watery eyes
Logan smiles as well while narrowing his eyes and sighing. He looks how Amira examines his hand in every way, showing no discomfort at all.
This is nice . . . maybe a bit too much from someone I’ve never seen in my life. But yet, I can feel innocence in her . . .
Never in her life had she felt a hand so warm from other beings.
“How daring,” Seiner whispers, still unconvinced as he rolls his eyes.
“Such beauty from an alien, haha!” Tania says.
“Huh?” Amira turns to her as she lets go of Logan’s hand. “What do you mean by ‘alien,’ dear human?”
“Well, an alien is a term we Earthlings use to describe beings that are not from our planet, for instance, you. I mean, the surrounding universe is supposed to be something around fourteen billion parsecs with a dim chance of a life form like you to appear. Now we have seen that other alien life forms weren’t the only ones, unless you can convince me otherwise,” Seiner says.
“Really? Well, with that description I think it also fits you in my world. After all, we are aliens in every way,” Amira says sheepishly.
“Haha, haha! That’s a pretty statement you got there, dear girlie! But hey, tell me, what tricks do you have, do you fly, do you fight, do you fly, do you breathe underwater, anything?” Tania says rapidly, like she has been running.
“Well, I can fly with these wings . . . another ability specific to my race. I cannot do it right now. I am not old enough to do it.”
“And what could that ability be, bestie?” Tania asks.
About the Book:
Book title: Earth Warriors: The Four Heroes of Peace
Author: Lui Petri
Publisher: Self-published
Publication date: November 1, 2025
Series: Earth Warriors #1
Genre: Sci-Fi alien contact action adventure
“What does it take to survive in a hostile universe?
The alien empire, Zlocu, has dedicated itself to evolution through violence after a civil war ravaged its planet. Now, as part of its plan, it has declared war on all galactic civilizations. And Earth is next.
With Earth’s military crumbling under the onslaught and interplanetary governments also on the edge of collapse, four unlikely heroes band together to stop the empire. Logan Preaker, a swordsman fighting for true equality. Seiner Butch, a scientific man driven by justice. Amira Dhorian, the last princess of her planet. And Tania Maestas, a magician seeking true happiness.
Each has lost something to the empire and, together, they’re determined to halt the Zlocu’s twisted evolution for good. But humanity has its own ghosts to contend with. Abandoned by the universe, the fate of the Earth and the universe rests on the shoulders of four heroes. And they’ll have to take down an empire to save it.”
Book/Purchase links:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/59694568.Lui_Petri
https://books2read.com/u/baJXd6
About the Author:
“Whether it’s original or not, that’s not the key. Execution of every detail is the key.”
Call me Lui Petri, I’m just an aspiring young man who plans to work as a freelance writer, and I’m starting the journey out through a novel. As a man born in the mixed land of Venezuela, whose paternal grandparents moved there to escape the war in Europe in the 40s, then moved around the world, first in Oman of the vast Middle East, and now settled in the Mediterranean, I seek to enrich stories where the perspective of everyone can be seen, no matter where you are, who you love and who you are.
Hop on board for an adventure of a lifetime by dashing space fights, surprising magical skills, ever-blossoming forbidden loves and so much more!