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Prime Times Weekly publication of the Mail Tribune , Medford, Oregon Seniors in cyberspace Photo by Andy Atkinson Medford's Myron and Ann Sutton, who have published 22 books and taken photographs in more than 70 countries, are offering their creations on the Internet. Embracing the future In order to share writings and photos with others, Medford couple adapts to new high-tech trends By PAUL FATTIG Among the spectacular nature photographs hanging on the wall in Myron and Ann Sutton's study is a shot of an elderly woman in a cap and gown. That is Ann's mother, graduating from the University of Illinois at age 90. "We firmly believe that learning should never stop," Myron said. "Our learning has increased immeasurably since we retired. "We're not actually retired -- we've just changed work," he added. "And we're really excited about the future of working with computers." The Medford residents -- he is 73; she is 75 -- have jumped into the cyberspace world with both feet. The global travelers, who have had 22 books published and whose photographs taken in more than 70 countries have been printed around the world, have decided to cut out the middleman -- or woman -- by offering their creations on the Internet. They have formed Silver River Inc., a book and photograph publishing firm that can be found at www.silverriver.com or e-mailed at [email protected] . "Most of our nonfiction books were written before computers were available," Ann explained. "But as soon as the technology appeared we switched over." Working with computers is much easier and more efficient than a typewriter, she said. "It's vital for us now," she said. "Having a Web site is another avenue for sales. And it's becoming more important as time goes on. We're very interested in all of this." Back in 1984, they bought their first computer, one with only 10,000 bytes of memory. But it was enough for them to begin a computer file of their photographs. They've since upgraded their computers with state-of-the-art technology that allows them to store their photographs on discs. "Now, if we want any of the 100,000 pictures we've taken, we just call it up," he said, noting that each photograph is numbered. "If it takes us more than a minute to find it, we figure we've failed." The two met at Grand Canyon National Park when he was a young ranger for the National Park Service. She was a new employee of the U.S. Geological Survey. Myron, who "retired" from the park service after 30 years, has a degree in botany from Northern Arizona University. Ann is a geologist with a master's degree from the University of Illinois. Both have taught at the university level. "But we have both written so many books on travel and the natural sciences that we feel like we're naturalists, rather than botanists or geologists," he said. "We cover a lot of subjects." That subject now includes computers, where they figure the sky is the limit. The name of their corporation hails from the Chinese term for the Milky Way galaxy, which is "Huang He," meaning silver river. Myron speaks Chinese, French and Spanish. The Suttons have two grown sons, Michael and Larry, both members of the board of the family corporation. Both are skilled photographers and naturalists. "It's in the genes," Myron Sutton said. The Suttons, whose travels have taken them far, plan to go further into the world of computers. They began their computer enterprise in earnest about a year ago. "That's when it became fixed in contemporary psyche that if you don't have a Web site you aren't going to get very far," he said. "I was never apprehensive about working with computers," he said. "Angry? Yes. A computer will fight you as often as it will help you. But they have been such help." In the past, their pictorial essays of the natural world were published by publishing giants like McGraw Hill and Random House. Now they are self-publishing their latest mystery novels and promoting them on their site. "This is a far different method than before," he acknowledged. "When a big publisher publishes something, he runs it out to the papers and you have a lot of reviews. "So we're going at it differently," he added. "We are putting it on the Web site and seeing what happens there." Included on the Web site is a synopsis of each book, such as "Death in the Amazon," a whodunit weaving a mystery with environmental issues. They've just completed "The Madman of Mount Everest," a mystery that takes place high in the Himalayas. It will soon be available at a Web site near you. Although the books are a collaboration, they list "Ann Livesay" as the author, using Ann's maiden name. "He wanted me to put my name on them, so if they don't do well then I'll get the blame," she said with a smile. Their Web site covers 115 pages, including 95 photographs. They also intend to reoffer through the Internet their nonfiction books that were published before computers were readily available. "I noticed in surfing a lot of other Web sites, like Barnes & Noble, a lot of our books that are out of print are being offered,'' he said. "So I thought we should put our books on our Web site. So we have some of our older books on the computer now." Their book, "The Appalachian Trail," published in 1967, went into nine printings, but is no longer in print. He figures that can now be put into electronic print as an E-book. "We can start doing that with all of our books now," he said. "We can publish them in our own name." They also have eight books they have yet to begin to market. One book he hopes to offer on the computer was written when computers were largely the stuff of science fiction. After he got out of the Army at the end of World War II, he wrote a memoir of the war. "That was my first book," he said. `I was a 6-foot-5 GI in an Army designed for a 5-foot-9. It's a window into a pretty wacky part of our history." While he likes the feel of a hard copy of a book in his hand, he believes the future is in electronic words. "The advantage is that you can adjust the typeface to a larger size if you have impaired eyesight," he said. "And every word is indexed. If you want to go back to see where a subject is mentioned, it's very easy. That is tremendous as a research tool for learning. "But I know the joy of reading a book under a tree has a fascination that will never die," he added. Prime Times front page Mail Tribune front page Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA