A couple more authors.
Philip Pullman is often asked what form his own Daemon would take (for those who've not read His Dark Materials nor seen that weak Golden Compass film, a Daemon is effectively the physical embodiment of a person's soul, taking the form of an animal). Pullman replies that his would be a magpie or jackdaw, a bird attracted to shiny things, like the nuggets from which he weaves his stories.
This last one is Hilary Mantel. I simplified this one down more and played with the colours a bit. It's perhaps less successful, but I'm attracted to this slightly less literal route.