The problem with creating original interactive works from scratch is exactly the same as with problem 2, multiplied by ten. You need talent. You need writers who understand interactivity, hypertext, and feedback loops. You need developers who think in terms of game-like mechanics and play-testing. You need people and you need them skilled and with experience.
There aren't that many of them around, so they're relatively easy to find. They are also, for the most part, gainfully employed.
Or they're academics, which I guess counts as employed.
The biggest problem here is that nobody really knows how to pull this off. Games come the closest, but there's no science there that can solve our problems. This is an art, pure and simple, and an immature one at that.
With good developer tools and documentation, it'll take years of experimentation before original interactive e-books become an industry of their own.
Without tools and documentation? Well...