Clockword

The solutions from 1 to 12 are all six-letter words ending with the letter S in the centre. Moving clockwise from 1, the letters in the outer circle will spell out the name of a romance novelist.

1. Genuflects 2. Groups of soldiers 3. Passes on 4. Morals 5. Fractions 6. Restores to zero 7. Possessors 8. Peers 9. Counting frame 10. Wallows 11. Delays 12. Physical activities