Veronica Turner's Adoption

When 1960's Hollywood starlet Veronica Turner falls in love with music composer Takumi Hara she doesn’t expect him to choose his wife over her, and she certainly doesn’t expect to become pregnant with his child. Keeping the baby isn’t an option. The studio wouldn't approve, especially since Veronica is married to one of the country’s most beloved singers. Veronica has made a career out of playing the ingénue. She isn’t willing to throw her life away for the baby of a man who doesn’t love her. So, Veronica decides to wait out her pregnancy in secluded Nevada and give her baby up for adoption. But before she can sign the papers, Takumi asks Veronica if he and his wife can raise the baby as their own. Veronica agrees under one condition: Takumi …show more content…
Ten years pass and all Veronica knows about her daughter is that she is a healthy girl with a creative streak. Then, tragedy strikes when Takumi and his wife die in a car accident. With her daughter at risk of going into foster care, Veronica sees Takumi’s death as an opportunity. The sexy single girl has replaced the innocent wallflower. Veronica has lost her place in Hollywood. The public will sympathize with her if she takes in an orphan. The movie offers will pour in. It's the perfect plan. And since her husband recently died in a plane crash, he's no longer a concern. A shifty judge orchestrates the adoption, all while keeping Veronica’s true identity a secret. Veronica's deceit does land her a few movie roles, but it also entraps her family in a web of destruction from which they may never escape. SHATTERED DIAMONDS is a women’s fiction manuscript that draws comparisons to Tracy Barone’s HAPPY FAMILY and the 1959 film version of Imitation of Life. The full manuscript is complete at 80,000 words. As an avid classic movie fan, I drew inspiration for Veronica’s character from the life of actress Sandra Dee. While the two women meet different ends, Ms. Dee’s personality and experiences color Veronica’s