MADISON – A.G. Porter exposes a trouble woman’s unraveling world in her debut book, “The Darkness Trilogy.”

The book follows 18-year-old Rayna Stone, who lives in a small Alabama town and needs a summer job to save money for college. However, “the only place that’s willing to take her is the upscale golf resort, The Landing,” Porter said.

Rayna dislikes “being around snobby, rich folks, but, when she meets eyes with the owner’s son, Liam, she starts to see the brighter side of things,” she said.

Then, Rayna starts seeing unexplainable visions and is haunted in nightmares by a being she calls ‘The Shadow.’ Her dreams start to materialize. Can she and Liam preserve their relationship?

Since childhood, Porter has been a fan of “scary stories” and devoured R.L. Stine’s “Goosebumps” series and later Dean Koontz novels. “They write really creepy stuff. I also enjoyed young adult novels dealing with anything paranormal,” she said.

However, few novels had a protagonist to whom Porter could relate. “I wanted to make Rayna Stone a person that someone from the South could see themselves as. I wanted to take a young Southern girl with Christian values and put her in a dangerous and supernatural situation,” she said.

“Not all protagonists of youth novels have to be foul-mouthed, promiscuous or think their whole world has to revolve around a boy,” Porter said.

Readers “are intrigued by the mystery. Creepy elements leave the reader checking over their shoulder,” she said.

Social networking has been Porter’s major tool for success. “Also, book bloggers … get excited when an author offers a free book in exchange for an honest review. Followers will read reviews and buy your book,” she said.

Porter grew up near Boaz. She now lives in New Hope with husband Billy and her 11-year-old stepson, Brenton.

Porter will host a book signing at New Hope Public Library on Aug. 5. Currently, Porter is writing the trilogy’s second book.

For more information, visit Facebook/TDTAGP, agporter.wordpress.com or post on Twitter at @agporter1.