‘Author Services’ Firm Allegedly Scammed Writers for $44 Million

Kevin Dettler knows he shouldn’t have taken the call. But he was flattered. Dettler, 71, is a successful farmer in Doland, South Dakota (pop. 189), where he grows corn and soybeans. Until 2014 he also owned a restaurant called Trophy’s Steakhouse in Maricopa County, Arizona, where he and his wife spend winters. A passionate hunter, Dettler had adorned the restaurant with a bevy of taxidermied prizes: elk, bison, bears. By his 60s, he came to believe he had a book’s worth of great yarns to share. “Whenever I told my hunting stories, people always commented that I should write a ...