I think it is because I grew up in New York City that I have always had a fascination with the lives of colorful and complex characters. It seems a big city has room for all sorts of paradoxical figures.But now, living primarily in Washington, I've had the chance to meet people who are shaping our world. My time working with the Russian space program has allowed me to pull back the curtain on the hidden world of Russia, both in the 1990s and today. My memoir "Selling Peace" tells the stories of my working to bring about cooperation in outer space between the two great Cold War enemies. And my first novel, "Them Hustlers," is all about the most common emotion in Washington today: hypocrisy. The novel is about one Louisiana congressman, Tommy Tucker, and his obsession to climb further up the ladder of power during the Clinton impeachment. Tucker, Gingrich, Clinton, Livingston and Larry Flynt, all jostled against one another while the nation could only cringe at the fate of the presidency--and ourselves. I've come to believe that the world is not black and white. There are shades of good and shades of evil and sometimes that makes for the best story of them all.