Okay, so what I haven't told any of you because it was top secret, is that the compilation was to be featured in a special promotion on Apple iTunes store, right as the iPhone 6 and iOS8 (which now includes iBooks as a standard feature) are being released.
http://tw.apple.com/bookbundles There are a lot of box sets for $.99 over the next month.
This promotion is why the release date is rushed and why I didn't have time to do a better release date for the preorder. There's a post at the Smashwords blog about the promotion, but I think I've reached the limits of what I can link. I believe the book bundle link is valid in this post, but that's it.
crich70, I did tell Mark that the book is still stuck in pre-order at Kobo. Hopefully it will clear up soon. I appreciate you contacting them, and I will continue to stay on top of it too.
