Author Sidney Sheldon claims he doesn’t mind...

Author Sidney Sheldon claims he doesn’t mind being referred to as a “brand name” author. “There is such a thing as a Sidney Sheldon story,” says the novelist.

Sheldon novels frequently center around a woman, and that’s the case with “Windmills of the Gods,” his best-seller that has been made into a four-hour miniseries for CBS. It will air in two parts, Sunday and Tuesday, 9-11 each night.

Jaclyn Smith is the college professor who finds herself knee-deep in political intrigue when she becomes American ambassador to Romania. Robert Wagner (with her on the cover) is a combative career diplomat on her staff.

The drama also stars David Ackroyd, Christopher Cazenove, Ruby Dee, Jeffrey DeMunn, Ian McKellen, Michael Moriarty, Franco Nero and Susan Tyrrell.

Sheldon says he starts his stories with a character, and “this time, I thought it would be fun to write about a woman who is suddenly appointed ambassador to an Iron Curtain country and gets into some kind of trouble. It all sprang from that.”