PLUMSTED — New Egypt resident Marti Rulli of Fort Avenue says writing a book about the death of a legendary actress was not only an opportunity to help a friend but also to finally reveal some truth about the mysterious circumstances that occurred more than 25 years ago.

   In September, Ms. Rulli’s nonfiction book “Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour” was released, detailing the conditions surrounding the death of 43-year-old actress Natalie Wood in 1981, as told by the captain of the yacht on which she was last seen alive.

   The book has been on the National Best-Seller List in the categories of biographies; actors and actresses; and true crime.

   ”Her mysterious death has been shrouded in misinformation for more than 25 years, and, although the captain has been trying since 1983 to tell the true details of the intriguing circumstances surrounding Natalie’s death, it is not until now in this new book that the truth has ever been revealed,” Ms. Rulli said. “(Her) death sent shock waves throughout the world, and her death has remained an enduring mystery.”

   Ms. Rulli’s involvement with the story began about 26 years ago, in 1983, when her friend, and captain of the yacht, Dennis Davern, approached her to help him tell his story about Ms. Wood’s death. She said she met Mr. Davern through mutual friends when she was a teenager living in Florida, and has remained close with him ever since.

   ”Dennis asked me to author the work because this story is a delicate one, and he needed someone he could trust to write it,” she said.

   The story, Ms. Rulli said, begins seven years before Ms. Wood’s death, when Mr. Davern was hired as yacht captain for Ms. Wood and her husband, actor Robert Wagner.

   ”The story tells how the Wagner family welcomed Dennis into their hearts and home,” Ms. Rulli said.

   According to Ms. Rulli, on Thanksgiving weekend 1981, Ms. Wood and her husband headed out on a pleasure cruise to Catalina Island in the Pacific Ocean with her co-star, Christopher Walken, in “Brainstorm,” which turned out to be her final film. Mr. Davern was the captain of the yacht for that trip. Ms. Wood never returned from the cruise, as she was found floating in the ocean Sunday morning of that weekend, wearing a nightgown, socks and a coat.

   ”A woman who spoke freely in many interviews about her lifelong fear of water that is dark and deep seemed to have no bearing on the investigation of her death, nor that her husband waited for over four hours to call for official help,” Ms. Rulli said.

   Ms. Wood’s death was ruled an accidental drowning, and it has been reported that she fell overboard, possibly having slipped on stairs on the yacht. A Los Angeles County coroner said at the time that Ms. Wood was intoxicated when she died, and fingernail scratches were found on the side of a rubber dinghy, indicating she was trying to get in it.

   ”Justice should not be selective, and celebrities should be held accountable for their actions the way everyday people are,” Ms. Rulli said. “No one is above the law, but at this crime scene ... all celebrities were allowed to immediately go home and lawyer up.”

   As for a possibility of reopening the case, Ms. Rulli said an “important, prominent person,” who she declined to name, who could have some influence in using the book to reopen it cited her work as being “the little book that could.”

   ”Thus far, there has been mostly public reaction to the book,” she said. “It has drawn media attention, and we hope that authorities will give this book consideration and treat it as a book of evidence.”

   In addition, Ms. Rulli said, someone who read the book has already started an online petition to reopen the case. The petition can be found at gopetition.com/online/31812.html.

   To promote the book, Ms. Rulli has made several television appearances, speaking on “Inside Edition,” the “CBS Early Show” and “Extra,” in addition to nationwide radio interviews for the past two months.

   ”In dealing with such a sensitive story, most every interviewer was concerned about the negligent investigation into Natalie Wood’s death, thoroughly covered in the book,” Ms. Rulli said.

   Although Ms. Rulli said she has always been interested in writing — having written for magazines and newspapers such as The Herald in Mount Holly and the Calkins Newspaper Group, where she was an employee in marketing, sales and freelance writing, in addition to keeping her own journal — this book was about trying to help “clear up a decades-old mystery.”

   ”We were careful to offer nothing beyond what Dennis saw and heard and was involved in,” she said. “This is a factual account. To substantiate Dennis’ claims, a full certified polygraph test, question by question, is included in the book.”

   This act of delving into a topic and telling a truth, Ms. Rulli said, is something that attracts her to the art of writing.

   ”Writing inspires me because I value reading,” she said. “One rarely hears someone say, ‘The movie is better than the book,’ it’s usually the other way around. In books, subject matter can be delved into, probed and explained.”

   Ms. Rulli said she also finds writing to be therapeutic, particularly through the act of keeping a journal.

   Aside from being a writer, Ms. Rulli said she is an avid reader, and particularly enjoys the nonfiction works of Ann Rule, and fiction pieces by Harlen Coben and Jonathan Kellerman. And as a fan, Ms. Rulli said, she is “honored” that her book has been recommended by Ms. Rule on her Web site.

   In addition to her writing, and reading, Ms. Rulli is in the publishing business, serving as business operator with offset printing company Bomar Printing, on Fort Avenue in New Egypt, which is what brought her to this area in the first place. She also spent more than four years as the Plumsted Business and Merchants Association secretary, and is a firm believer in the importance of staying involved in the community.

   ”Life is a bit hectic at this point, but I will continue to offer what time I can spare as I regard the importance of community involvement,” she said. “Without community establishments’ efforts, towns would not have events such as fireworks, fall festivals, arts and crafts, holiday open houses, business expos, food drives and others. All it takes is for key people to offer a little time and enthusiasm for a whole community to enjoy the results.”

   Ms. Rulli said she is a proud member of the Plumsted community.

   ”I’ve been in Plumsted Township since 1992, and I feel very much at home in this rural part of central New Jersey,” she said. “It was business that brought me to Plumsted, but an appreciation of the location that has kept me here.”

   While she is working on two more nonfiction books, Ms. Rulli said she is glad to have been involved in telling the tragic story of Ms. Wood’s death.

   ”Trying to tell the story became part of the story,” she said. “I am proud to be the author as I feel it’s a story that always needed to be told.”

For more information on Ms. Rulli, visit her Web site, martirulli.blogspot.com. She will signing her book at Barnes & Noble at the Hamilton Marketplace on Route 130 at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18.