The assembled lovers of literature had not only read the book, but actually had an arsenal of questions to ask me about the characters and their motivations and the mysteries and their meaning. Some of their theories and opinions about what might really be going on in the novel gave me pause for thought and put new ideas in my own head, so it truly was a fascinating exchange with some wonderful people.
For many of the inquiries about backstory, though, I had to pull out the cop-out excuse and say, "you'll just have to wait until the sequel." Though the producers of LOST and The X-Files promised their fans that all the answers to all the mysteries would be revealed at the end, I make no such claims myself!
(To my delight, they plied me with my current favorite beer, Bell's Two-Hearted Ale. Clearly someone did their homework.)
